Break-in at the Pony

[Frarin(#31050)] Night is set down over Bree, a murky thick night that feels small with the press of cold clouds overhead. But there is at least a slackening in the precipitation. Neither snow nor rain comes from the sky, despite the overcast cover. Thus within the Prancing Pony, it is quieter than normal, the creaking corridors devoid of the usual thrum of rain to accompany the noises of the night.

The silence is not complete, however. Up the stairs come the quiet thump of heavy boots and the dim light of a solitary candle and holder. Soon Frarin the Dwarf is entering this particular corridor, but his quiet steps do not appear to be a deliberate effort to conceal his passage, for he looks too weary and downtrodden for such an effort. His clothing is creased and dirty, his trousers especially, which look to have spent a great time brushing through scrubs and mud. In the pale light of his candle, he looks quietly moody tired, depressed and irritated all at once.

Small sounds come from one of the rooms, nothing to concern anyone walking by, really. The sound of footsteps. of cloth being shuffled around. Nobody would pay a bit of attention to someone getting ready for bed at the night or something like that.

Unless, of course, they were to notice that the room producing these sounds is Thari's room.

Keldean is back to work, finally recovered from that illness that kept the teen laid up for so long. He's going through the hallways with a lantern and a few twigs of kindling, making sure that all the lamps are lit. When he spots the dwarf he hurries over. "Frarin!" He exclaims in a hushed whisper. "I heard that someone attacked Cordelia? Is that true??"

[Frarin(#31050)] Frarin looks up from his quiet passage at the sound of Keldean's exclamation. "Aye, lad," the dwarf says in a hoarse grumble. "But she's fine." The simple explanation is left at that - undoubtedly to be further questioned - but Frarin's cheek has a small scratch and bruise upon it and his hands look to have been scratched multiple times as well.

He does not make for his room, however. Indeed, he heads directly for that room once home to Thari, but not suspiciously as if the noises within had been heard. Instead, he places a hand upon the door with a pained look, thoughtful. But he pauses also, brows coming together. Is that noise?

[Tom.(#32360)] From within Thari's room comes the soft, drawn-out sound of cloth ripping.

"What happened?" Keldean asks, eager to know more. "Was it the man that attacked her before? Did you ever talk to Aaron? He might-" He pauses and looks at the closed door that Frarin is stopped in front of, hearing the ripping.

[Frarin(#31050)] "I don't know, lad," Frarin said wearily, absently. Perhaps he believes himself to have imagined the noises coming from Thari's room, but when Keldean pauses as well, the dwarf fixes the youth with a sudden surprised, serious expression. He points at the door and opens his mouth, silently confirming that Keldean too had heard something. Another moment of listening, then - yes, there is the tearing of cloth, most certainly. Frarin gently raps his knuckles against the door experimentally, but only twice, then he is listening again.

[Tom.(#32360)]
The shuffling sound within abruptly stops. There is a silence filled with expectancy, as breath held for too long.

Keldean frowns, looking at Frarin in confusion. He asks in a softer whisper, "Someone is in your room?" That's a little bizarre.

[Frarin(#31050)] Frarin's ear is turning towards the door, listening intently to the sudden quiet in the room beyond. He looks at Keldean and shakes his head sharply, whispering, "Not mine. Thari's." Suspicion there is in the dwarf's eyes, and wariness, and a buried anger at whoever this intrudor is. He wears no cloak and the war hammer hanging at his side is by no means concealed. It is drawn forth from the iron ring on his belt, but only held in one hand. Perhaps it is only a worker of the inn, after all. But at such a late hour? His grip tightens.

Placing a finger to his lips, Frarin nods deftly at Keldean and tries the doorhandle. Locked. Lips pressing together as his suspicion builds, the silver merchant takes a firm hold of the handle, steps back, and thrusts his shoulder against the door.

[Tom.(#32360)]
There is a sudden rush of activity in near-silence. The unlocked door is pushed open, a dwarf rushes in, and a man near the door is hammering a club down on the intruder.

Tom. attacks Frarin with his Club and lightly wounds him!

Keldean backs up, setting the lantern on the floor. His brown eyes are wide in the dim lighting of the hallway as he watches the dwarf rush through the door. He jumps forward to see inside, the teen gaping as Frarin gets attacked.

[Frarin(#31050)] The door gives way without much trouble and Frarin is thrust into the room. But there is no time to look for whoever lingers inside, for the intrudor finds the dwarf first. A cudgel crashes down upon Frarin's left shoulder and his candle drops from his hand, sputtering to death in a second. Safe to say this is no inn employee. Whatever weariness or sadness may have afflicted the dwarf before, however, is suddenly overwhelmed by anger. Indeed, Frarin's fury is near instantaneous, as if lingering just beneath the surface of his usual composure.

Both hands now free, Frarin rounds on his attacker, war hammer coming into both hands. A man, just behind the door. "Hoh!" growls the dwarf, baring his teeth as Keldean is forgotten. The blue hammer glints in the dim lantern light as it swings for the man's left hip.

Frarin attacks Tom. with his War Hammer and moderately wounds him!

[Tom.(#32360)]
The man behind the door has intense, hard eyes trained on Frarin and doesn't wait even a moment before attacking Frarin again. Thus the club is swung hard a the side of the dwarf's head and he does not in the least big avoid the dwarf's hammer, which knocks the man toward the wall. He utters some vile language in a low voice, which can be transcribed here as "*#& dwarves!"

Tom. attacks Frarin with his Club, but he misses by a handspan.

As the two fight, Keldean hurries into the room, looking for something to grab as a weapon that he might hit the man with. He doesn't think to look and see if there might be another intruder.. he doesn't even think to call for help. That would be the smart thing to do but Keldean does seem to panic in tense situations.

[Frarin(#31050)] "Keldean, stay back!" Frarin grunts at the youth as he hurries into the dwarf's peripheral vision. But the man's club is flying again, this time for the side of Frarin's head. He ducks, grimacing very slightly at the pain quickly building in his offended shoulder. "Ho no you don't," he spits at the thug. "Not this time, you don't." Frarin lunges at the man, this time swing the wicked spiked end of his weapon towards his enemy's left calf. Frarin, it seems, wants to take this man alive.

Frarin attacks Tom. with his War Hammer and terribly wounds him!

[Tom.(#32360)]
There is a CRACK! of a broken leg as the man's legs are swept from under him. The man starts to give a bellow of pain, but this is quickly stifled. There is a crash as he tumbles to the ground, shoulder banging into the wall and knocking a dent in the plaster. He looks up at the dwarf, face red and sheening with sweat, and flicks a quick glance at the door. A second glance is given to Keldean.

Keldean sees Frarin swing the spiked end and stares, frozen for the moment, when that sound of cracking bone fills the quiet room. The boy has never seen a fight like this before and isn't sure what to do to help. The dwarf told him to stay back and he's inclined to agree with that now that he's seen what that warhammer can do.

Frarin(#31050)] Frarin does not hesitate as the man goes down. The blue war hammer hits the ground with a heavy thunk not far from him, but Frarin himself is lunging angrily for the man, both hands reaching for the man's dirty collar. He moves as if to place a knee on the man's chest to hold him down by weight alone. "Where is he?" the dwarf growls, eyes glinting with rage, teeth clenched. "Where /is/ he? Where is Thari? Where is he?"

[Tom.(#32360)]
The man gives a grunt as he is pushed against the floor, onto his back, still clutching his club. He pants thickly, looking up at the dwarf's enraged face. He speaks quietly, his voice gravelly. "You won't kill me if you want to find him."

[Combat(#13388)] Frarin slips the great war hammer back into an iron ring on his belt.

Keldean creeps closer to look at the man, giving Frarin and that vicious hammer a wide girth. "Yes he will. They have your other man in the jail, and he'll tell them where to go if you don't.."

[Frarin(#31050)] "I don't have to kill you to make you talk," Frarin retorts, voice deathly calm, if growling. He seems to register Keldean's words, for it is to the youth's threat that Frarin adds his own, but not the teen's creeping closer. "Just because I don't make a living kidnapping unsuspecting dwarves doesn't mean I won't stoop to your level, you bastard."

As if to make his point, Frarin releases one hand from the man's collar and draws from the back of his belt a small dagger. It is not a fighting or protective dagger, only one to suit the purposes of a traveller, likely used for cutting rope or cloth or food. With the small blade in hand, Frarin moves to push the man's club out of his grasp.

A quick glance is again flicked at Keldean, then back to Frarin. "You won't find him without me," the man asserts in a lower, hard voice as the dwarf reaches for his club. "Littler than you, isn't he? I made him cry like a girl, I did." And all at once, the man jerks his club away and bashes it toward Frarin's head for a third time.

Tom. attacks Frarin with his Club and moderately wounds him!

Keldean feels a small chill run through him at Frarin's words, this darker side of the dwarf unexpected and frightening. When the thug swings at Frarin the teen will move forward to aim a kick for Tom's head, trying to offer what little help he can.

You attack Tom. with your Bare Hands...
Tom. parries your attack with his Club!

[Cordelia(#1394)] There is more noise now, the sound of rushing feet as someone runs down the hallway. Is it help? Inn guests alarmed? No, it's another man in dirty clothes, and he is carrying a club. He rushes into the fray, looking about for a target, perhaps. The club swings wildly, aimed at Keldean's back.

[Frarin(#31050)] Frarin's lips twist into a snarl at the man's taunting words, but he has the sense not to lose all composure. There is no time to dwell on the man's jeer, however, for suddenly his club is swinging again. It catches the angry dwarf unawares, connecting solidly with the right side of his head. It leaves a trail of blood in its wake, breaking the skin on and around his ear in multiple places. "Gar!" Frarin grunts in frustration as the blow sends his head careening into the wall.

He small dagger is brought up and down towards the man's club arm, almost as if to pin in to the ground at the wrist. The second thug is registered only as the blade dives downward.

Frarin attacks Tom. with his Axe and severely wounds him!

[Tom.(#32360)]
Frarin's dagger strikes true. Tom's club goes skittering across the floor as the blade enters his wrist to embed in the floor below. A gout of bright blood shoots upward, bathing the knife in time with the man's heartbeat. "Fine!" groans the man. "Stop!"

[Combat(#13388)] Tom. unwields Club.

Keldean is about to grab up Tom's weapon when it flies away, but rather unexpectedly something hard is striking him in the back. He never heard the accomplice coming over the excitement of the battle in front of him. He staggers forward, off-balance, and falls right on top of the bleeding thug that Frarin has been efficiently crippling.

[Cordelia(#1394)] There's a moment's hesitation as Keldean falls and the hired thug known as Rolph stands poised with his weapon hovering in the air. Keldean is there, sprawled on top of Rolph's accomplice, the youth's unhelmeted head expose and open to cracking open with one good smash of Rolph's stick. But Rolph also assesses the situation rapidly, taking in blood spouting from Tom, the fury of the dwarf attacking him--and perhaps wisely, Rolph turns back out the door and runs! Down the hall, down the stairs, heading for the exit from the Pony, whichever door he can reach fast enough.�

[Frarin(#31050)] The spurting blood soon covers Frarin's hand and the wrist of his tunic, but he leaves the knife pinning the thug to the floor, suddenly more intent upon Keldean and the second intrudor rather than saving this groaning man before him from bleeding out. Indeed, the youth is very suddenly falling in front of Frarin, right on top of Tom.

"Keldean!" the dwarf cries, voice rising with sudden worry. But there is no evident blood on the youth and Frarin is already standing, one foot towards the door to pursue the second thug once Keldean has given some indication of being okay.

[Tom.(#32360)]
A young body falls atop of Tom's face and arms, and at once Tom snakes a hand up to try to grip the back of Keldean's hair. Footsteps pound away, and from beneath, the man shouts, "ROLPH you bastard! Get back here or I'll gut you!"

Keldean is confused, the chaotic nature of the fight something he's altogether not used to. He groans but begins to shove up away from Tom, shaking off his surprise just as he feels the man's hand tighten around those tangled auburn curls. "Hey!" He growls, and tries to hit the man in the face.

You attack Tom. with your Bare Hands...
Your attack against Tom. lightly wounds him!

[Tom.(#32360)]
The man's face is growing rapidly ashen, so much so that when there is a smack of the boy's hand on it no red mark arises in the aftermath. "Pull the knife out," Tom's strained voice is actually starting to beg. "You'll never find him without me. Pull it out."

[Cordelia(#1394)] Rolph doesn't even so much as turn at Tom's curses toward him. His footsteps are already pounding down the stairs as fast as he can go.

[Frarin(#31050)] As the downed thug pulls back on Keldean's hair, Frarin stays his pursuit of Rolph with clenched teeth, the dilemma of his decision clearly frustrating him into anger. He comes quickly away from the door, none too kindly nudging Tom's broken leg. No knee is placed on the man's chest this time as Frarin kneels, for there is little chance of his fleeing now. He takes a grip of the small dagger, the spurting blood again running down his hand and wrist, but the blade is jerked free.

Frarin does not stop there, however. Working quickly, he tears free a strip of the man's dirty jacket and wraps it around Tom's upper arm, a few inches beneath the armpit. The knife is threaded into the strip of cloth and turned mercilessly until quite tight, forming a makeshift tourniquet. "Do not think that just because I want you alive that I will not sacrifice your arm."

Keldean comes to his senses, the panic subsiding. He looks down at the man's hand and his own visage pales as he sees all the blood flowing freely from the thug's wrist like a small river of red. Frarin steps in to pull the blade free and Keldean reaches up to try and pry Tom's fingers away from his hair. "Let go!" The teen just wants to get away from this injured thug.�

[Frarin(#31050)] "Keldean!" Frarin growls with an effort to sound less threatening as he looks towards the pale teen. "Get you out, lad, and tell any of the other dwarves still at the Pony of what is going on. And tell them there is still a thug running! I'll deal with this one."�

[Frarin(#31050)] "Keldean!" Frarin growls with an effort to sound less threatening as he looks towards the pale teen. "Get you out, lad, and tell any of the other dwarves still at the Pony of what is going on. And tell them there is still a thug running! I'll deal with this one."

Keldean stares at Frarin uncomprehendingly for a moment as all he can think about is what the dwarf said about sacrificing the man's arm. He shudders, then nods quickly as he realizes what Frarin told him to do. He jumps to his feet, "Ok!" and the teen is more than happy to rush off and raise the alarm. Better than seeing if Frarin makes good on that promise to Tom.