Growing with Threat

Another lovely and warm day had greeted Yarn, so the sky was blue, the birds chirped and the gentle breeze brought smells of fresh baking and other foods, so Tracey was lured outside this particular morning, for just a little walk about, and have a change from being stuck indoors, like she had been the previous day.

With Todd and Natalia as her rostered escort for the day, she'd lazily wandered about the streets again, before coming to the east gate, to watch some farmers bring in some goods from the surrounding land.

But just as she was about to leave, something important was going on, as a few calls of distress came from far beyond the protective walls, grabbing her attention, so she quickly went out the large exit to get a better view.

Several locals now quickly made their way to the town entrance, looking to be away from what appeared like black smoke in the distance, and perhaps something that had caused that smoke.

Tracey shot off without a word, running as quick as she could toward the rising and thickening black smoke, which she soon found to be coming from a little barn, near a small farmers hut, along the road.

A few figures were standing about, at least four, and as she quickly neared, Tracey could see they were unknown Humans.

I knew this day would come... The others have started to move too...

Tracey was almost there when two more exited the small home, with a smaller figure held between them.

"Let me go!"

They'd obviously caught one of the farmers, a spirited Horse-girl with small flicking brown ears, long lighter brown hair and a matching hair-like tail, who struggled against the two bigger men, that appeared to have a lot of difficulty just holding her.

"You heard her, let her go!"

Tracey had arrived, and skidded to a stop, holding her simple hilt of her hip-slung sword, only a few meters away, getting the attention of all the unknown men.

"Oh we got a warrior..."

They took a moment then.

"Wait you're a Human!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I am Tracey Spikelet, Sword-master and Imperial Hero - and I hold these lands and all upon them for the Empire... so unhand her, stop your ransacking and explain yourselves!"

She announced and commanded steadily, despite the quick sprint to get there, that had left everyone else in her dust.

"The 'Bloodless Hero' you say? Can't say I recognise you."

The thug with the longest messy hair stepped forward, while the Horse-woman farmer was dragged his way, still kicking out with her strong looking, tanned legs and short work boots.

"Well I am."

He was more interested in their captured one though.

"If that's true, then why are these creatures running freely?"

The Horse-girl was held down as tightly as the others could manage for their group's leader.

"Uh, hey get your hands off-!"

"Release her now!"

Tracey didn't care much for these brigands, who laughed at her and the forced still captive.

"We just want a little fun with this one."

The still resisting, frightened and now repulsed girl couldn't move as he ran his dirty hand down her face and then neck.

"Release her now, or I'll put you down in the dirt you stand on!"

"It's a Beast... what does it matter?"

Tracey flicked her sword out, and stamped a step closer, giving them all pause.

"Subject to Imperial law; she is a worker on this land I have claimed, so she is subject to my command - and under my protection too."

Although the laws of her country were often something bitter to Tracey, she knew them fairly well, and such clauses stated that those who worked on Empire lands, were Imperial property - so a Slavery law, that Tracey personally despised, but right now it suited her perfectly.

Distracted, the men's grip eased and the Beastwoman slipped free, but before the nearest three could grab her again, she shot off across the grass, before skidding around behind Tracey and crouched behind her.

"Are you alright?"

She asked over her shoulder to the brown pony-tailed girl in the short purple and white dress.

"Yeah..."

She quietly replied, still a little frightened, but with her angered grey eyes watching those who'd burned her small barn.

With their captured 'prize' lost, the man glared angrily at Tracey.

"You could just look the other way."

Tracey answered by simply pointing her silver blade at him directly, but none from this new group seemed willing to actually engage her, with 'the law' on her side, and especially when back-up finally arrived, as a lightly sweaty Natalia came alongside too.

The rag-tag group shuffled together, a little more defensively, while the Horse-girl stood up with some confidence, to face-off with them as well.

"So tell me why you attacked these lands?"

Tracey levelled at them, and they shuffled some more.

"We didn't know... how were we to?"

They had a point, as, in their eyes, this was squarely in the enemy nation of Alama.

"You will have to make reparations... but who are you and where have you come from?"

One thing was certain; they didn't like being ordered about, maybe because she was a young girl, or maybe out of practise, as they looked more like bandits rather than any part of an invading force.

"You first."

One other shot back defiantly, so Tracey showed them.

"Er... look at that..."

Their defiance broke, as more of Tracey's people arrived as well.

"Geez, you two are so quick..."

Todd huffed quietly behind the trio of women.

The leader of the six revealed his own tanned brown parchment: Dylan Pickett - V; 13, D; 7, KC; 2.

"We were hired as a forward scouting party, for Lord Bolt."

"Well, you can go with these gentlemen here, and later on, we'll have a little chat..."

The small group submitted to Tracey's authority, and she put away her blade, while they went with Arran and Gregory, who led them toward the town, and kept a close eye on them.

Todd was still getting over his run, while Natalia seemed fine as she scanned about, on the look-out for more trouble, as Tracey checked on the Horse-girl.

"Sorry for..."

Tracey looked to the smouldering, charred wreck of a small building.

"No worries, there wasn't anything important in there, and I needed to fix the roof anyway."

She remained fairly cheery in the face of what had just happened to her.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, the only reason they got a hold of me was when I went for my shovel, but I forgot where I put it, and then I got cornered inside my house."

Tracey still worried for her, as she was directly in the danger zone, on the fringe of the farmland, and furthest from the town, in the direction from where more Humans from the Empire would possibly come from too.

"I usually fight off the occasional bear - so the average Human is no biggie."

But she was brimming full of confidence now, as she proudly showed off her own green coloured scroll: Nina Apalay - Ty; Fighter -kick lv4, V; 47, D; 4.

"And if things get dicey, I can run real quickly - I won the last fairs sprint race."

A skill appeared at the bottom; Sprint lv6.

For a farm-girl... those are pretty impressive stats and skills...

"I still feel bad..."

"My father and brothers will come help, so don't."

She smiled, but that soon faded.

"I must warn you, that many more... Humans might arrive soon, and they might not be so kind either...."

If they are scouts... then perhaps an army is approaching... but hopefully their leader will be a little reasonable...