Post by Brad the Inhaler on Sept 7, 2008 0:09:30 GMT
The rain drummed heavily against the brim of his hat, thundering loudly like an army moving across the battlefield.
Durrumdurrumdurrumdurrumdurrum...
'He' was a silent figure, save for the rain off his hat, he stood tall just under the eaves of a thatch roof, seeking shelter. The cold, hard rain continued to hammer down from the heavens to splash in the puddles and rivers of the moonlight streets, before trickling away down into the sewers through the many grilled drains that lined the cobbled streets.
Durrumdurrumdurrumdurrumdurrum...
But only one of these drains took the attention of the silent figure, and it was situated directly across the wide road from the shadowy spot in which he stood. His steely grey-blue eyes were fixed upon it, except for brief seconds when he blinked away the rainfall that splashed off his hat, his gaze was unwavering, waiting...
Durrumdurrumdurrumdurrumdurrum...
The man reached an arm, clad in simple black cloth, underneath the heavy oiled cloak that hung about him. A naked finger checked his crossbow, his sword, his net...just as he had done countless times this night. He wanted to be ready. Ready for when it happened...
Durrumdurrumdurrumdurru......
And happen it did, as quickly as the torrential rain had started it had stopped, leaving a ghostly silence to the night. The man slowly tipped his head slightly to one side to let the rain that had collected on it's brim slide off, to splash on the stone ground beneath him. His eyes did not move however, he knew it would be soon. He silently checked his trappings once more out of habit. Then suddenly, the sign he had been waiting for made itself known. A movement by the drain, muffled scuffling that would have been unseen by all if not for the silent watcher. There was the noise of heavy iron scraping against stone and a black shadow engulfed the opening for a brief second before a loud clattering marked the grill being dropped back into place. Cid smiled as he made his move...
The Gutter Runner turned at the sound of shuffling cloth and leather slapping wet stone, it leapt backwards just in time as it heard the twang of a bowstring and a crossbow bolt slipped through the empty night air where it had been standing moment before, it's steel tip glittering silvery-blue in the wash of the moonlight. It could smell human. Giving a guttural screech it made hasty it's escape.
Cid cursed silently as his target vanished into the night, he hung his crossbow back onto his belt and moved cautiously into the shadows the Ratbeast had fled into, hearing the scraping of claws on rooftiles he looked upwards just in time to see a hideous naked tail slip over the roof of the building beside him. He gave a brief second to check his gear before kicking off from the opposite wall and scrabbling for purchase against the wet stone roof. Clinging on with one hand he managed to swing his leg up and into the roof guttering before launching himself onto the roof in one fluid movement. Rising to his feet he scanned the rooftops, catching sight of his prey, already almost 50 yards away! The man cursed his heavy trappings before sprinting carefully over the slippery rooftops. The skaven was gaining good ground on him, the vile beast scurrying along on four paws. Cid however had the advantage in length of strides, and quickly leapt over narrow alleyways that could have been the death of him, soon he was coming up to the creature's right flank, and the cobbled streets lay down to it's left. Taking one brave leap onto a soggy, flat thatched roof the hunter landed on his knees, dropping gracefully into a roll he sprung back up again to startle the Skaven as it tried to backtrack. The man quickly dived under his cloak and snatched for his net, giving the weights a twirl to untangle the heavy rope he launched it at the Gutter Runner. The creature was cornered and could do nothing but squeal as the heavy net engulfed it, the net's thick weights dragging the beast off the rooftops and crashing to the streets below. Cid wasted no time in rushing the extra distance to the edge of the roof and dropping swiftly down after his prey. Landing heavily on the cobblestones he quickly drew his sword and spun to face the writhing creature. It's dull blackened iron dual purpose fighting and climbing claws unable to slash through the heavy weave of the net, no matter how much it thrashed and slashed. Cid warily spun the sword in his hand and paced around the Skaven slowly. Seeing that it was entirely bound he darted forwards, planting a heavy booted foot onto the beast's head he drove all his weight behind the shortsword's point as it pierced satisfyingly into the dark mass of the creature's belly. A horrific, unearthly death wail screeched out across the silent night sky as the hideous creature's life sapped from it's veins. Cid withdrew his sword and stood back, before neatly slicing off it's head.
There came a heavy knocking at the battered wooden door, and the orphans all turned to looked at it, terrified. Those lucky enough to have got to sleep were impervious, but the ones who sat up awake all night from hunger or pain had nothing now but fear. They'd heard too many things go bump in the night in their short lifetimes, and this filthy hovel was all that they could called safe. Almost a hundred sickened, frail bodies were crammed together inside the dank gloom, huddling together for warmth, in a space that was barely big enough for twenty. The knocking came again, louder! Some of the older children muttered to each other, some of the younger ones burst out wailing before disconcerning neighbours clamped greasy hands over their mouths. Shortly, a timid, pale youth with sunken eyes and dirty blonde hair rose to his feet and tip-toed over to the door. Placing a pallid hand upon the rusted bolt that held it shut, his fingertips trembling so that it rattled inside it's frame. Slowly he drew the bolt across and the creaky wooden door fell open to reveal a dark figure. Cid stooped and stepped inside, reaching into his cloak he withdrew a tinderbox which he sparked against a bundle of rags on a pole by the door. The burst of light caused several of the sickened children to shrink back, their eyes being used to eternal darkness. The hunter swung the door shut behind him and took the wide-brimmed hat off his head to reveal his scabbed and pockmarked face, as the orphans set their eyes upon the familiar stranger they in unison breathed a sigh of relief. The orphan who had opened the door gave out a small cry of excitement.
"Cid!!..We was so scared, we dint 'ave a clue who would be a callin' at dis time of night!!"
The little orphan turned to address the rest of the room, some of whom were now waking to the cries and the torchlight.
"Oi everyone! It's Cid! Cid is here!!"
Turning back to face the man as a large, strong hand tousled his hair the boy smiled.
"You little ones shouldn't be scared of the dark, that's when I'm about to protect you. The real monsters you need to avoid are the ones who lurk in the day."
Cid patted the child on the shoulder and stepped properly into the room, the only furniture save for a few ragged straw mattresses and some empty braziers on the wall was a low, oak table under which several of the orphans were forced to sleep, and it was up to this that Cid now walked, dragging his full net behind him.
"Have you gotted us a gift Cid!?...Have you got us food?"
The man closed his eyes and lowered his head, grimacing at the thought of what he was about to suggest. Hoisting the net up onto the table he let the headless corpse of the ratman spill out onto the table.
"I found this one scuttering around the sewers, my guess is he got brave and decided to come up for a bite to eat. Well creatures like this don't belong in our city, and seeings as the Watch don't dare go near the sewers, least of all in this side of town...I killed it."
Gathering up his net and hooking it onto his belt the man turned, trying to avoid the hungry eyes that filled the room, flickering in the shadows of the torchlight. A sob caught in his throat and he quickly walked towards the door. Stopping just as he reached for the bolt he turned back again.
"I've taken it's head, and most of the madness, I'll see if I can't convince someone down at the Watch house tomorrow. You lot do as you please, but remember what kind of shit that thing has been crawling in, as always, skin it first."
Cid looked down at the watery-eyes of the blonde haired orphan who had remained next to him the whole time.
"Can we have lobster next time Cid?"
The kid's face was full of cheer, as if he'd been thinking of that joke all week, and Cid quickly had to turn away to hide the tears that were welling up in the corners of his eyes. Reaching for the bolt he whispered in a choked voice.
"Someday Get, someday..."
With that, Cid stuck his hat back onto his head and pulled the brim down low to hide the tears that were already starting to streak down his face, nights like this broke his heart. He stepped fearlessly out into the night air, pulling the gnarled wooden door shut behind him. Letting his cloak gather around his muscular form the man blinked away the last of the tears before striding off down the misty streets...
Durrumdurrumdurrumdurrumdurrum...
'He' was a silent figure, save for the rain off his hat, he stood tall just under the eaves of a thatch roof, seeking shelter. The cold, hard rain continued to hammer down from the heavens to splash in the puddles and rivers of the moonlight streets, before trickling away down into the sewers through the many grilled drains that lined the cobbled streets.
Durrumdurrumdurrumdurrumdurrum...
But only one of these drains took the attention of the silent figure, and it was situated directly across the wide road from the shadowy spot in which he stood. His steely grey-blue eyes were fixed upon it, except for brief seconds when he blinked away the rainfall that splashed off his hat, his gaze was unwavering, waiting...
Durrumdurrumdurrumdurrumdurrum...
The man reached an arm, clad in simple black cloth, underneath the heavy oiled cloak that hung about him. A naked finger checked his crossbow, his sword, his net...just as he had done countless times this night. He wanted to be ready. Ready for when it happened...
Durrumdurrumdurrumdurru......
And happen it did, as quickly as the torrential rain had started it had stopped, leaving a ghostly silence to the night. The man slowly tipped his head slightly to one side to let the rain that had collected on it's brim slide off, to splash on the stone ground beneath him. His eyes did not move however, he knew it would be soon. He silently checked his trappings once more out of habit. Then suddenly, the sign he had been waiting for made itself known. A movement by the drain, muffled scuffling that would have been unseen by all if not for the silent watcher. There was the noise of heavy iron scraping against stone and a black shadow engulfed the opening for a brief second before a loud clattering marked the grill being dropped back into place. Cid smiled as he made his move...
The Gutter Runner turned at the sound of shuffling cloth and leather slapping wet stone, it leapt backwards just in time as it heard the twang of a bowstring and a crossbow bolt slipped through the empty night air where it had been standing moment before, it's steel tip glittering silvery-blue in the wash of the moonlight. It could smell human. Giving a guttural screech it made hasty it's escape.
Cid cursed silently as his target vanished into the night, he hung his crossbow back onto his belt and moved cautiously into the shadows the Ratbeast had fled into, hearing the scraping of claws on rooftiles he looked upwards just in time to see a hideous naked tail slip over the roof of the building beside him. He gave a brief second to check his gear before kicking off from the opposite wall and scrabbling for purchase against the wet stone roof. Clinging on with one hand he managed to swing his leg up and into the roof guttering before launching himself onto the roof in one fluid movement. Rising to his feet he scanned the rooftops, catching sight of his prey, already almost 50 yards away! The man cursed his heavy trappings before sprinting carefully over the slippery rooftops. The skaven was gaining good ground on him, the vile beast scurrying along on four paws. Cid however had the advantage in length of strides, and quickly leapt over narrow alleyways that could have been the death of him, soon he was coming up to the creature's right flank, and the cobbled streets lay down to it's left. Taking one brave leap onto a soggy, flat thatched roof the hunter landed on his knees, dropping gracefully into a roll he sprung back up again to startle the Skaven as it tried to backtrack. The man quickly dived under his cloak and snatched for his net, giving the weights a twirl to untangle the heavy rope he launched it at the Gutter Runner. The creature was cornered and could do nothing but squeal as the heavy net engulfed it, the net's thick weights dragging the beast off the rooftops and crashing to the streets below. Cid wasted no time in rushing the extra distance to the edge of the roof and dropping swiftly down after his prey. Landing heavily on the cobblestones he quickly drew his sword and spun to face the writhing creature. It's dull blackened iron dual purpose fighting and climbing claws unable to slash through the heavy weave of the net, no matter how much it thrashed and slashed. Cid warily spun the sword in his hand and paced around the Skaven slowly. Seeing that it was entirely bound he darted forwards, planting a heavy booted foot onto the beast's head he drove all his weight behind the shortsword's point as it pierced satisfyingly into the dark mass of the creature's belly. A horrific, unearthly death wail screeched out across the silent night sky as the hideous creature's life sapped from it's veins. Cid withdrew his sword and stood back, before neatly slicing off it's head.
There came a heavy knocking at the battered wooden door, and the orphans all turned to looked at it, terrified. Those lucky enough to have got to sleep were impervious, but the ones who sat up awake all night from hunger or pain had nothing now but fear. They'd heard too many things go bump in the night in their short lifetimes, and this filthy hovel was all that they could called safe. Almost a hundred sickened, frail bodies were crammed together inside the dank gloom, huddling together for warmth, in a space that was barely big enough for twenty. The knocking came again, louder! Some of the older children muttered to each other, some of the younger ones burst out wailing before disconcerning neighbours clamped greasy hands over their mouths. Shortly, a timid, pale youth with sunken eyes and dirty blonde hair rose to his feet and tip-toed over to the door. Placing a pallid hand upon the rusted bolt that held it shut, his fingertips trembling so that it rattled inside it's frame. Slowly he drew the bolt across and the creaky wooden door fell open to reveal a dark figure. Cid stooped and stepped inside, reaching into his cloak he withdrew a tinderbox which he sparked against a bundle of rags on a pole by the door. The burst of light caused several of the sickened children to shrink back, their eyes being used to eternal darkness. The hunter swung the door shut behind him and took the wide-brimmed hat off his head to reveal his scabbed and pockmarked face, as the orphans set their eyes upon the familiar stranger they in unison breathed a sigh of relief. The orphan who had opened the door gave out a small cry of excitement.
"Cid!!..We was so scared, we dint 'ave a clue who would be a callin' at dis time of night!!"
The little orphan turned to address the rest of the room, some of whom were now waking to the cries and the torchlight.
"Oi everyone! It's Cid! Cid is here!!"
Turning back to face the man as a large, strong hand tousled his hair the boy smiled.
"You little ones shouldn't be scared of the dark, that's when I'm about to protect you. The real monsters you need to avoid are the ones who lurk in the day."
Cid patted the child on the shoulder and stepped properly into the room, the only furniture save for a few ragged straw mattresses and some empty braziers on the wall was a low, oak table under which several of the orphans were forced to sleep, and it was up to this that Cid now walked, dragging his full net behind him.
"Have you gotted us a gift Cid!?...Have you got us food?"
The man closed his eyes and lowered his head, grimacing at the thought of what he was about to suggest. Hoisting the net up onto the table he let the headless corpse of the ratman spill out onto the table.
"I found this one scuttering around the sewers, my guess is he got brave and decided to come up for a bite to eat. Well creatures like this don't belong in our city, and seeings as the Watch don't dare go near the sewers, least of all in this side of town...I killed it."
Gathering up his net and hooking it onto his belt the man turned, trying to avoid the hungry eyes that filled the room, flickering in the shadows of the torchlight. A sob caught in his throat and he quickly walked towards the door. Stopping just as he reached for the bolt he turned back again.
"I've taken it's head, and most of the madness, I'll see if I can't convince someone down at the Watch house tomorrow. You lot do as you please, but remember what kind of shit that thing has been crawling in, as always, skin it first."
Cid looked down at the watery-eyes of the blonde haired orphan who had remained next to him the whole time.
"Can we have lobster next time Cid?"
The kid's face was full of cheer, as if he'd been thinking of that joke all week, and Cid quickly had to turn away to hide the tears that were welling up in the corners of his eyes. Reaching for the bolt he whispered in a choked voice.
"Someday Get, someday..."
With that, Cid stuck his hat back onto his head and pulled the brim down low to hide the tears that were already starting to streak down his face, nights like this broke his heart. He stepped fearlessly out into the night air, pulling the gnarled wooden door shut behind him. Letting his cloak gather around his muscular form the man blinked away the last of the tears before striding off down the misty streets...