The Challenge Part 2

EDITIED Dozens of Bandits, two wagons locked in a deadly chase, and one chest of gold. Need we say more?

Caught between the transition of winter to spring the woods are half filled with snow, half filled with mush. The air is chilled but the sun is warm as it beats down through a cloudless sky. Dylan lays next to the road propped up on some grass against a tree soaking up the sun. He breaths deeply and exhales.

There is a rustle in the foliage and a black furred otter steps out close to Dylan. The otter looks around for a moment before walking towards the dozing lizard. "Oi! Dylan! Wake yerself up!"

The lizard tips his hat up and chuckles at the sight of the otter before letting his hat come back down over his eyes, "You need to learn to relax kid. Cart is going to come here eventually." Dylan looks to be rather calm, especially in the chilled weather. "Do you have an idea for how we are going to rob the thing with out killing the guards?" From the far distance the sound of a cart can be heard but not yet seen. By the sound it is still a fair distance away.

Rorgan raises an eyebrow at the lizard. "You know as well as I do that it never hurts t' be ready, an' as fer robbin' the wagon..." He sighs, sitting down near the lizard. "We need t' think of a distraction, but a good one..."

The lizard smirks under his hat, "We better think up of one fast then..." The sound of the cart is drawing closer. A team of six burly ferrets comes around the bend drawing a carriage behind them. It doesn't look like much at first glance, a simple wooden carraige made light for easy and quick travel. A red furred fox is on the top along with what looks like a a squirrel, both armed with bows. Four pike beasts, all stoats wearing blue tunics under chain mail vests and armed with long metal tipped pikes run along side the carraige, "Tell me rorgan, do you want to be the theif, or the distraction?

Rorgan thinks for several moments about this, watching the caravan draw closer. "I'll do better as the theif. I'm used t' that sort of thing more than I am distractin' beasts. Plus, my fur an' armor will help me blend in." He chuckles, holding his tattooed right arm up. "This might cause a problem, but I should be alright."

The lizard nods. With a grunt of effor the pulls himself up. "I'll see what I can do to distract them while you find a way into that carrage. Oh and...do try not to die..." Adjusting his hat dylan strolls out to the road. He stands there for a moment clutching at his heart and collapsing onto the middle of the road, laying perfectly still as the carrivan draws closer.

The carivan draws closer and closer and...doesn't appear to slow down at all! Realizing that his ploy is about to bring about a gastly death by carrage wheel Dylan hisses in fright as he rolls off to the side, narrowly dodging the carrivan. Now THAT gets them to stop, having the lizard spring to life like he did. Before he can get up the four stoats have him surrounded with their pikes pressed against his chest, belly, and muzzle. "Er...top of the morning fellas... nice day for a stroll eh?" he offers nervously.

Seeing a chance to get in closer, Rorgan slowly sneaks out of the forest, making a beeline straight for the wagon to finally get his chance to make this entire thing work. "Alright, now it's time to see how much we've got here..." He whispers to himself, jiggling the handle just a bit to try and open it, hoping that maybe he'll get lucky this time around.

While the lizard converses with the guards about how he is completely justified to be sleeping in the middle of the road out in the middle of winter the door to the wagon opens revealing red cusioned seats with a large wooden chest between them. A portly weasel dressed in fine red and gold robes is laying face down on the seat with his limbs tied behind his back and his mouth gagged. There are two brown furred ermines here dressed in dark cloaks trying to get the lock of the chest open. They pause and give the otter a shocked, curious glance.

Rorgan stops, watching the twin ermine, whom he presumed to be thieves, work. After a moment of shock, an idea pops into his head, and he steps into the carriage with the rest of the creatures already there, though there isn't all that much room to move to begin with. Balling up his fists, he attempts to nail the first ermine with a rather vicious punch, hoping his target would block any attacks from the other ermine.

The ermine shouts as he is knocked into his buddy who had half drawn his bow gun. The arrow flys into his own foot and he lets out a horrible screach. All four guards turn their heads towards the sound and Dylan sighs. "Time for plan 'B'"

Without even thinking, Rorgan dashes forward to grip the edges of the chest, picking it straight up off the ground only to set back down just as quickly with a grunt of effort. "Whew..." He mutters. "Heavier than I thought it would be.." He sighs, pulling out his own dagger and setting to work on the lock, completely forgetting the twin ermine for the moment.

There is the sound a scuffle outside. The far door opens to reveal one of the guard stoats in the doorway. Behind him dylan dueling two different guards at once, another lays prone at his feet. Some beast is shouting from the top, "Hey! Move so I can get a clear shot!" The stoat at the doorway exchanges looks with the ermines, the weasel, and the otter, "What in the blazes!?" IT is just then that the woods erupt with a horn blowing in the distance. Several different vermin species materialize heading state for the caravan. If one were to look close enough they would recognize the beasts from the tavern a few days ago.

Rorgan's head comes up as he hears the horn, and he turns, looking out the window at the beasts charging at the caravan. "Oh stars..." He mutters before turning back to his work with more fervor, trying his best to open the well made lock which is giving him so much trouble. "Dylan, we need t' go!" He shouts, hopefully loud enough so Dylan can hear.

Oh, Dylan heard all right. With the sight of the vermin literally pouring out of the wood work an unspoken truce is struck between the lizard and the two remaining stoat guards. "Everyone get on!" He shouts The fox on top of the carraige gives the order to move adding nitwits and dolt somewhere in the mix. The vehical jerks as the ferrets take off. Dylan and the two stoat guards latch themselves to the back of the carraige, the stoat who opened the door leaps inside the carraige, passing a glance to the tied up weasel, "What in the blazes is going on! Did you do this?"

Rorgan passes a glance to the incapacitated ermine, then looks back at the stoat. "Well...not exactly...I'll try t' explain if I get the chance..." Alright, so maybe he won't, but it's worth a lie to get the guard to shut up. "Meanwhile, mayhaps you can make sure those two ermine don't cause us trouble." Of course he says this while he's still picking the lock of the chest, though he thinks he may be close.

The stoat however does not take the orders. How he managed to get the pike into the carriage in the first place will forever remain a mystery. He uses it though to rap the end of the chest. It is about all he can do with it. "Stop! I don't take orders from vagabonds and criminals. Now tell me what's going on NOW!" An arrow fly's in through the window and embeds its self in the far wall above the stoats head, "Ok tell me later." The beast attends to the ermine, one unconscious the other wishing he was with an arrow in his foot. Dylan shouts from the top of the carriage, "Rorgan brace yourself!" Behind them a small wagon drawn by various vermin species is coming down the hill out pacing all the other bandits on foot. The beasts on it brandish cutlass's and cross bows.

Rorgan growls, though this growl is quickly replaced by a grin as the lock pops open. Sheathing his dagger, he stands up slightly, looking out the back to see the carriage chasing them. The otter sighs, then opens the door, gripping the edge of the roof of the moving carriage. With a grunt, he lifts himself up onto the roof, his fur blowing wildly in the wind. "Keep the carriage steady!" Shouts the otter, pulling his bow and an arrow out and knocking the arrow, not having to squint against the wind since he is facing away from the wind.

Since the beasts pulling the vehical are all sentient, terrified but sentient the two guards on top, the red fox and squirrel, are launching arrows at the bandits that are quickly gaining on them. The stoats are trying to push any runners that get close off with their pikes. Dylan is near the front trying to hold onto his hat and acting like a spotter for the ferrets pulling the cart. Behind them a wagon full of vermin is rapidly gaining on them. In the open cart there are a couple of woodlander and vermin races. The only one that sticks out is the big burly brown furred rat with an eye patch and a hook on his right paw. In his left is a serrated cutlass.

Rorgan yelps as arrows fly past him towards the vermin, and he snaps at the fox and squirrel, "Stop shootin' an' let me handle this!" Turning back around, he draws his arrow back on his bow, trying to get his balance for several moments. Taking a deep breath, he releases the arrow, watching it fly off to smash into a vermin before drawing another arrow, going into a machine-like loop which sends arrows speeding off towards the following carriage.

Several beasts yelp as arrows appear in their hides. A fox doubles over and falls off the side. He is quickly replaced by two more beasts, a hare and stoat as more and more bandits climb up onto the enemy wagon. Most of the runners are tiring out now and lagging behind. THis will be the only way they can keep up with the carraige now. "Hard right coming up boys, look alive and...bleedin stars! Brace!" Dylan shouts as the wagon finely reaches the carraige. As they turn the two vehicals collide. One of the stoats screams as he is launched off the top and onto the ground. The fox nearly sufferes the same fate but manages to hang onto the edge of the carraige. Several beasts try to jump onto the carraige from the wagon.

Luckily, Rorgan had caught wind of the warning before the hit, and was able to drop straight to his stomach, lettin his weapons stay trapped under him as he grips the sides of the top of the wagon to keep from being thrown off, which barely works, but a few moments later sees the otter standing back up, now being confronted with beasts jumping onto the carriage. He sheathes his bow and the arrow, pulling out his twin daggers and slashing at one such invading beast.

A rat falls to his doom after being slashed by the otter. A bare chested pine marten with celtic designs runnign down the center of his axe swipes at Rorgan while trying to climb up. A lanky grey furred squirrel in leather armor climbs around the side of the wagon. He reaches up and grips the ankle of the guard squirrel, pulling him off the edge of the carraige before leaping up with daggers in his paws he engages the remaining stoat as Dylan helps the guard fox back onto the carriage.

Rorgan simply steps back out of the way of the swiping axe, but he refrains from ending the pine marten right there with a knife throw mostly because he has no assurance that he can make the throw with the carriage moving the way it is. With that thought, he simply braces himself and waits for the marten to climb up.

THe marten climbs up. With friends. Another skinny marten appears, this one weilding a short sword and wearting a leather vest. As he is still getting to his feet his friend with the axe charges. Dylan draws his own blade and engages a rat that has also clammered up onto the carraige, he still manages to catch their fellow allie stoat finished off by a quick jab to his belly and chest by the squirrel who tosses his enemy to the side and advances on the otter. "On your tail Rorgan!" The lizard shouts as he kicks the rat over the edge and into oblivion.

Will our dashing hero's prevail? Or will they be dashed to pieces by bandits?! Find out next time in Part 2!