[WFRP2e] The Power of One - Part 2 - "Transire Benefaciendo"

[BananaPhone]

Taalia Giovanni

Taalia watched as both frustration and weary love as Bella injected her typical passion into her resistance to Briant and her own attempts to send her forward the the village. In many ways, Taalia knew this would be the result: Bella was too stubborn by half. She'd already shown it with the troll some years ago. And if words were to be believed, she had expressed it when she had learned that Taalia had sneakily went away to fight the pirates in her absence. It was a beatuiful loyalty, a truly content companionship she felt with the other orphan of the world, and her heart ached that she had to try and ask this of her each time - but Taalia was, by far, the more 'seasoned' of the two of them. Bella was no stranger to violence. Not now. But fate had always preserved her each time, while the shepardess knew how ugly it could get if things did not go their way. The idea of putting her beloved friend into harms way like that drew a knot in her stomach each time, but Taalia knew she couldn't convince the slightly older girl of any other option. The last time she had attempted and 'agreed' to do so was back in the swamps when she had set out to rescue Cestie's grandson...Bella had come along any way, following along behind by ten minutes or so.

And so, with regular, weary resignation, Taalia put one arm around the smaller womans shoulders and kissed her on the forehead before letting her go.

"Stay near the back; you don't know ogres, these aren't cowardly rat-men or animalistic trolls. They're not brilliant, but they can be cunning. And they can move a lot quicker that you might think; you won't be able to out-run them if things go poorly."

With that, the troupe set off through the forest, Taalia with her rifle over her shoulder, among other weapons. She took the time to visually inspect the men about her, noting their lack of standard-issue items, instead haphazardly carrying about whatever melee weapons they could. Cudgels were easy enough. A solid, sturdy stick would do. That so few had weapons of iron or steel spoke of their poor situations, though those bows could be nasty if they were massed upon a target and the men had any practice at accuracy at all. Given how well they seemed to know the woods, as Taalia sometimes peered across as the towering tree's about her, stretching up to blot out most of the sun with a green leaf canopy, it was likely they were hunters, part time at least. Maybe if they mass-focused on one ogre at a time they could bring them down in due order. But...that would likely depend on the terrain. Finally, they brokered upon a hill and Taalia's excellent hearing could detect the throaty, guttural voices of the ogres. Even just the baritone gravel of their sounds gave hint to the size of the brutes, as the shepardess turned her eyes to look at Bella, almost with a 'I told you so...' look on her face.

When they neared the top of the hill, Taalia's inner slave instinct was already wondering how they could best use this situation. Assumedly, the ogres, however many there were, were down in a gully: they could open fire and then retreat back down their own hill, drawing the ogres up to the top where they would be open sitting ducks for the thirteen bowmen waiting in the trees.

That was about the best tactical planning they had at the moment! But what Taalia had not planned on was being recognized.

Moving up to the crest of the hill, crouching, rifle in hand, Taalia felt her muscles clench and a shiver run down her back when she spotted the beasts in humanoid form. They were every bit as hulking and imposing as she remembered; big, muscular arms as thick as a mans waist with deep, broad chests and ugly heads that were too thick and tough by half. But what immediately stood out to the shepardess was the way in which the beasts wore their clothing. Or at least, the apparent leader. He had a green cloak that ran diagonally from one thick shoulder down to the other side of its waist, a style that was distinctly in her memory as being the fashion of the politically outspoken back in Verezzo. She had given her loyalty and vote to the Yellow faction, naturally, out of gratitude for their rescue of her from the pyre. But she remembered the greens as being some type of forward-minded lot...they even encouraged women to serve openly as elected politicians. Or was that the blue faction? had the greens been the religious ones?

"You...are Taalia Trollslayer!"

Right now she was a deer in the lantern-light, because Taalia's hetereochromia eyes widened in shock, her mouth gaping a little as her rifle rested in her hands.

"Yo...you recognise me?!" she balked, her voice carrying in the wind from the top of that hill, the surprise rescinding from her body as she straightened herself up, eyes narrowing.

"You know me? Who the hell are you?"