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Korin finaly caught up with Marun and grabbed her by the tail on accident, causing him to fall forward and accidentaly on top of Marun. After he picked himself up and brushed the dirt off of himself he sat down cross legged and tried to breath a little slower. It had been a while since Korin sprinted long distances, and he hoped he wouldn't have to again. Once he calmed down, he spoke.

"I thought we were going to lure him to us? If I lost sight of you you probobly would have been abducted by a different thief like your mom."

Korin sighed. She was so easily frightened.
And naive.

He carried her over to where he was traning last to keep a good eye on her as he chopped his favorite log into peaces. She lay about 10 meters away and in the edge of his eyesite.

6:00 AM, the rain stopped. Reynard looked up toward the dark heavens.
The air was fresh, clean and sweet to his lungs.
In a few hours, I'll show Sever that I'm worth my salt...
He was about one and a half mile's away from the town, he had risen at 4:40 to get ready for the days venture. In the infirmary there had been a bathtub which he made good use of. At 5:00, he was selecting the proper weapons he would need, and about ten minutes later he was on his way.
Reynard found himself standing in front of what looked like the ruins of an old church in a large meadow somewhere deep in the forest. The meadow was pear shaped, the ruins set in its center. Reynard started to walk around the crumbled building. The church had a 300 feet of defensible space from the forest. Despite the many holes, no roof and rotting stone walls, the church would make a excellent thug hang out.
Because a road to the border from the town skims the forest line at the edge of the meadow. The northern entrance coming from the town, and the southern road leading further into the forest. Its an almost perfect ambush point. If I was a bandit, this is where I would be stationed at.
He crouched down next to an old fire pit. Removing his glove, he placed his hand into the black ash; it was cold, but the ash was fresh from as soon as yesterday.
I had a dog, and his name was Bingo!!
Reynard grinned, a dark delight crawling up his spine. He wiped off his muddy hand on his poncho then fitted his glove back on. He looked around for a vantage point. Parts of the road were flooded, the reason why was because there was a large hill next to it. Taking that information to heart, he walked into the church. The door had long rotted away, the same with the pews. The once cobble stone floor was now a carpet of tall grass, like the meadow. Only one panel of the stain glass window was still intact. He crossed himself before he proceeded inside. Used cans of beans and rations lie hidden in the grass, an obvious sign of inhabitants. So many in fact, he couldn’t help but almost trip over them.
No respect... so I’ll show them no mercy...
Placing his K-98 on the floor, he knelt before the stone alter of Jesus. After crossing himself, he began to pray for the actions he was about to commit...

Operation: ‘Sending the Message’
9:55 AM, Reynard had setup four hours ago on a small rock cliff on the side of the large hill. Through a small clearing of trees, he could see the entire meadow, with the church in the center of his sights. He was wearing a canvas poncho. It was dark gray with black tiger stripes streaked across its hood and down the back, it matched the color of the rocks he was laying on and its bulk threw off the shape of his body combined with lying on his belly in the shade of the forest, he was virtually invisible. Very slowly, he took a sip of water from his canteen. Glancing at his watch, he grumbled.
I’ve been here too long, I’m so cold and wet! But it’s the price of earning the shot...
Reynard had once been on his belly for three and a half days. Slowly crawling through enemy infested territory, coming very close to being stepped on once. When he finally made the shot; then ran his tail off getting out of there, making it to the evac plane by the skin of his teeth! He suffered many scratches and ant bites.
Yeah, it was kinda fun...
Reynard then heard something coming down the southern road, he slowly and carefully placed his Mauser on the rock he was lying on and pulled out his binoculars to get a better look. It was a man on horseback with a green hood pulled over his head. A bow was attached to his back and a belt with quite a few knives and pouches was around his waist. He looked a lot like the men who had attacked him the other day, except they weren’t wearing hooded tunics. The thug continued down the road, Reynard watched him cross the entire meadow. At the northern and the southern entrances, he had berried two bundles of TNT underneath each wheel well of the road, for a total of four explosives. In the event any of his pray tried to escape using either of the roads, he would simply activate the duel plunger detonator which he had wired to the TNT. The thug noticed the disturbed dirt at the northern entrance. A bolt of fear shot up Reynard’s spine. But, a moment later the man shook his head and reared his horse around and trotted back the way he had come.
He’s a scout... more are coming.
His first encounter with the bandits the other day had left Reynard a little on the cross side and his talk with Sever and Finculmir had only increased his distaste for them. Their terrifying existence in the woods will end starting today. Reynard placed his binoculars aside and fitted his k-98 into his shoulder.
About twenty minutes later, a small company of men came marching(in a quite unorganized fashion) through the southern entrance to the field. After making a head count of the thugs, he opened his in-field journal and jotted down the time, the date and the number of men he saw.
9:17am, 194X - - (I don't know what year it is)
x3 men on horseback
x4 archers
x6 men-at-arms
The thugs continued down the muddy road until they became parallel with the church, then they broke ranks and started unpacking their day packs. The men on horseback, two of which were the scouts, tied their horses to a wooded hitch post close to the large fire pit. Reynard opened the action of his rifle and began to load it. His Mauser K-98 sniper rifle was upgraded to have a capacity of ten rounds, the magazine projected out the bottom of the gun a few inches to comprise for the four extra rounds. He placed eight high velocity 7.62mm cartridges, and two of his own special ‘no sound’ cartridges. Once the men had finished unpacking their daily supply of food they began to spar, and duel. Practicing their swordsmanship.
Well, its for the best; a patrol of boy scouts armed with water pistols could defeat them.
Reynard couldn’t help but feel a bit proud that he might have been the cause and reason to brush up on combat training. There was one man he had found special interest in... he wore a red tunic with a long sword belted to his waist and a crossbow on his back. His face and head were shaven. He was the third man on horseback and he preceded to shout commands of instruction.
He must be their officer.
Blades continued to clash, metal against metal. The men shouted and cursed at each other. The day grew older and as the sun rose high into the havens the heat grew hotter. Through the scope of his rifle, Reynard could see the sweat on the mens faces; exhaustion. This was what Reynard was waiting for; tired minds are easily confused, and a confused enemy, is more easily played(as every assassin knows). Eventually, the man wearing red(the obvious leader) gave the command to break and eat. About ten of the bandits found shade by sitting up against the eastern wall of the church. The commander and two of his men started to build a fire. Reynard opened his field journal and documented his observational notes. When he finished, he fitted his eye into the scope and found his first target; one of the archers had wandered off to use the facility’s. Reynard lined up the ‘T’ shaped German reticle on the mans plump head and began to squeeze the trigger...
‘...tick...’
The mans head arced backward after a spray of his brain echoed out the other side. He collapsed, dead.
Hit... operation ‘sending the message’ has now begun.
He bolted the action to eject the spent shell and re-chamber another round. Reynard aimed his rifle at the commander.
‘...tick...’
His kneecap exploded like a ripe melon, and he fell to the ground screaming in pain. The two other men stopped their work with the fire to aid him. Their confusion showed clearly on their faces. His silent rounds were working wonderfully! It was a shame he didn’t bring more. The way they worked was the noise-suppressing mechanism is built into the bullet rounds themselves. The inside of the powder case contains a tiny piston. And it’s set up so that when the firing gas pushes the piston, the piston pushes the bullet out of the chamber. The firing gas is sealed within the chamber by the piston, preventing it from escaping outside. That’s why there’s no sound when it fires. Reynard was very proud of his little invention, but its difficulty to make stopped it from ever being produced. Reynard readied his rifle again, and aimed it at the man who was closest to helping his fallen captain.
‘...Ka-Bam!!’
The sound of metal meeting metal could be heard as the bullet hit the side of his helmet. Shortly after, he fell to the dirt. From the moment the shot had been fired, all hell was loose. The men stopped eating, stood up and started running around frantically trying to figure out what had just happened.
Or were the shot came from...
‘...Ka-Bam!!’
Reynard’s next shot had dropped a horse, the bullet passing through its head and into the rear flank of the one next to it. The horsed started to whinny and snort and make other pissed off horse noises!
Terrified, the bandits started to run into the church. Leaving most of their swords and other equipment with their lunches. About five men entered the church until...
‘...BOOM!!!’
Reynard had set up his grenade in-a-can trick at the churches doorway, and from the looks of it... it worked!
Reynard thought he saw a body part fly out the church entryway. But regardless of the previous explosion, the thugs continued to seek cover inside the crumbling building. Somehow, an archer had gotten on a horse and started galloping for the southern exit. Reynard was never really good at fast moving targets, so he temporality put down his rifle and put a hand on the plunger next to him. Reynard waited for the man’s horse to be right on top of the TNT then...
‘...BAMBAM!!’
Reynard didn’t see much of the archer and the horse afterward when the smoke cleared; blown to bits.
The squad leader continued to shout for help, and surprisingly, two men ran from the church to help him!
‘...Ka-Bam!!’
Another headshot, but the second man continued to run for his commander. Sadly, his loyalty would not be rewarded. Reynard landed a shot in on his chest. He tried to scream, but his lung had collapsed. Another explosion sounded inside the church, it was his second grenade. He remembered hiding it inside a coffee can. Yells of agony sang out from the building.
Well, time to say ‘hi.’
Reynard stood and threw off his poncho. He stretched out his back and flexed his arms and legs, finally getting some blood to them. He jumped off the rock he was on and started to jog across the meadow towards the church. When he came close enough to hear the groaning of the men still inside the church, he lifted up the flap of his holster and drew out his artillery Luger. A thug slowly stumbled out of the churches doorway, his face was sweaty and dripping with blood. He saw Reynard and started to reach for his short sword. Reynard cocked his Luger and pointed it at him.
“Drop it or I’ll blow your head off!!” He commanded!
The sword dropped to the ground, and the thug started to run away.
“Freeze! Don’t move!! Get on the ground, now!! Get on the GROUND!!” Reynard said, running up to him, grabbing his tunic and throwing him to the ground.
“Spread out, spread out your body and don’t move!! If you move I will KILL you, do you understand...!?”
The man had his face in the dirt. His body stretching out as far as he could; but he did not answer.
“DO YOU UNDERSTAND!!?!!” Reynard screamed, inches from his ear.
“YES!!” The bandit yelled back.
“Yes what!?!”
“Yes, I understand!!”
The man started to cry, and shiver, and sweat and possibly soil himself; completely frozen to the ground. The bandit leader, heard the shouting and too stopped moving and yelling; he now lay there like a slug.
“Good. Nice to hear that...” Reynard said with a smile. But with a slight hint of death in his eye.
He turned and stepped into the church and was surprised to see more bandits dead then alive. About three were propped up to the wall, all bleeding and not moving.
But still breathing... None shall leave here alive.
Reynard knew he was being cruel, but he also knew that if any of them got to safety, they would tell who attacked them. That and they’ve seen his face, which made it more of a reason. Reynard’s plan was simple; He would make the thug who could still walk carry the bandit leader back to the town. And since the others were too weak to walk he had to leave them here... where they might get picked up by their own... still alive.
They must die...
Now how to go about doing it. His only sidearm was the luger and the Mauser was running low on ammo. In the event that he is fallowed back to the town he was going to need all the bullets he could get. The answer was simple...
Reynard unclipped his shoulder harness and drew out his k-bar. The thugs looked up at him.
“Please, don’t...” A man whimpered.
“Ah, but I wonder... would you have shown me the same courtesy? Don’t worry, I’ll make this quick...”
When he had finished, one-by-one he straightened out the body’s of the dead thugs so they were flat on their backs. He crossed their arms across their chests and closed their terrified eyes, giving them peace. Reynard then began placing coins over the dead bandits eyes, after saying a quick prayer.
Reynard stepped out from the church, he had a white cloth in his hands that he was using to clean the knife. He dropped the bloodied cloth when the knife was clean then put in back into its leather holster. Then did likewise to the bandits out side the church. When all the dead were properly taken care of, he said;
“Now then...”
Reynard trotted over to the man wearing the red tunic. He jolted with fear when he looked up at Reynard.
“Please, don’t kill me... I’ll do what ever you want, just please.”
“Oh, I know you will... but first, I have to ask you a few questions.”
“Yes, what ever you want...!” The man said eagerly.
“I’ll start off with a simple ice breaker; what is your name and rank?”
“Nicolae Thorn, I’m a squad leader and instructor”
“Good answer, now who do you work for?”
Nicolae froze, his eyes grew larger.
“I-I don’t know, he keeps to himself... know one knows.”
“You said ‘he,’ so you’ve met him before, yes?”
“Well... only a few times, I give him troop updates. Thats all...”
Reynard pulled out his map, it had the town’s location as well as a large portion of the forest surrounding it.
“Where on this map is the location of the other hidden patrols?”
“I-I don’t know. Each squad leader only knows where his own hidden barracks is... only he, and the master.”
“Hmm, smart move... in case one of you gets captured, you can’t divulge the location of the other barracks are... clever. But, you still aren’t giving me much reason to keep you alive. And something tells me your not telling me everything... but, I bet if I bashed your head in all sorts of secrets would come tumbling out...”
“Please no! I’ll do what ever you want! Anything!”
Finclumir might be able to pry information from his skull, even if he try’s to lie.
Reynard drew his Luger.
“Stand up boy!”
The young bandit jumped to his feet.
“Come over here and carry this man! Were heading for the town! If you try to escape, I’ll kill you. Understand!?”
“Yes, I understand...”
“Good, now get to it!”
The young bandit ran over to his superior and picked him up with some difficulty.
“Alright, put him down... take off your chain mail and his then fallow me.”
The man did so with blind obedience. After making a short run back to his sniping spot to retrieve his rifle and his other equipment, he returned to the two prisoners who were waiting by the road.
“Alright, we’re staying off the road. We’ll use the creek I fallowed back to the town. I’ll let you both know right now that if ether of you try to escape, slow me down, scream for help or do anything stupid,” Reynard bolted his Mauser. “I’ll send you to your god, or whatever you people worship around here. I hope that we are clear on this. ‘I don’t care for you, therefor, I will not hesitate to off either of you.’ And as long as you two take that to heart then you’ll make it to that town alive. Now lets move.”
And with that, Reynard escorted the prisoners with no problems all the way back to the town. By the time they reached the town, Reynard had finished his mission report in full detail from A to Z.
Well, if this doesn’t put a smile of Sever’s face then nothing will(except his wife).
Reynard placed a cigar in his mouth and lit it....

:MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:

((...Perhaps we should get you to split these things into separate posts in future. That way you don't scare people away. Also, I'd really prefer it if I got to actually play my bandits instead of having you just more or less make up the stupidest gits you can think up and run amok with them. Most of them are fairly naive, yes, but there's always at least two or three intelligent members with each group.))

Marun saw eyes as blue a a frozen lake. The shape got closer as it pounced on Marun. She got a stick to stab the creature with, to paralyze it.

The creature let out a yelp of pain from the stick in it`s paw. Marun saw the creature close up as she suddenly knew she had wounded her sister, who had finally found Marun. "Shokio! Is that really you? Oh, Shokio!"

Korin saw Shokio out of the corner of his eye. He turned a way from his half chopped log and to them. At least she looked friendly. He sat down in hybrid form and asked the obious question.
"Solar, you know her?"