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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 12:08:15 GMT -5
The Justiciar stopped, "Believe what you want, I'm not going to justify myself. I told you what I've seen, because it's not your war to die in. If you want to feel I have some ulterior motive it's your call. But when it comes down to it, don't say you haven't been warned." The cloaked emmisary continued walking away from Baxter.
He did have a point, this invasion did not really seem to have any goal, there were no real plans to taking Canterlot, Manehattan or Cloudsdale. All the Diamond Dogs did was ambush ponies and hold the ground they already had. What was the purpose in the long run? If the ponies wanted to strike back, they could rain fire and make earthquakes that would devestate the Diamond Dog forces yet they have yet to do anything.
Ice Fang has also expressed his concern that something else was going on behind the scenes, there were still no explanations for the Terragons, Dragon, Griffons, Drakes and Changelings taking part in the invasion. Something that seemed even stranger from a Diamond Dog with Blood Fang markings.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Dec 1, 2012 13:23:37 GMT -5
Baxter watched as the Justiciar walked away, now entirely unsure of what to do. The dog could have been lying to him, but everything he said correlated to what was going on. Ice Fang wanting Baxter to leave, almost all of Sharp's decisions regarding the invasion. It added up.
But there were still so many unanswered questions. What he wanted to do was confront Sharp, get answers. But he also knew Sharp wouldn't hesitate to kill him, especially if what the Justiciar was saying was true. Baxter would be worthless in Sharp's 'grand scheme', and to expect honest answers from him was a mistake. A painful death was more likely.
So what could he do? Run? Go back to the barrens and let things play out from afar? Leave Ice Fang to die?
...
"I'm not leaving without Ice Fang." Baxter said pointedly. "If what you say is true then he's got no reason to stay either. I'm not going to run while Sharp sends him to his death." Baxter began walking out of the dead end as soon as he finished. "Tell your masters to go choke themselves," he added as he passed the Justiciar.
The wolf began heading towards the Fillydelphia outskirts in the direction of Everfree. He had to find Ice Fang, convince him to go back with him. There was no excuse for why Ice Fang needed to stay while Baxter fled. Heck, this wasn't fleeing. This was abandoning a deathtrap.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 13:53:10 GMT -5
Baxter was heading towards the outskirts, when he suddenly found that one of his legs would not move. With not enough time to evaluate the process, he ended up tripping, but as soon as he lost his balance he felt himself get yanked backwards, though not by what.
Dragging along the road, he came to a stop at the feet of the Justiciar, who leaned over him. "You may feel any way you wish about my masters. But insult them in front of me, and you will regret it." He said, stepping over Baxter pointedly as he continued walking past.
Baxter made his way to the outskirts rather peacefully, undisturbed by Diamond Dogs. Even though his keen senses could feel someone was following him. He had a bad feeling about it all. How long was he being watched?
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Dec 1, 2012 14:13:17 GMT -5
Baxter glared at the justiciar as he stepped over him, but remained silent. With that interruption out of the way, he could finally continue towards Everfree. Nobody bothered him as he made his way towards the outskirts, but his senses were telling him someone was watching him. Who would be following him, though? And why?
He avoided letting on that he knew what was happening, however. He never bothered to look behind his back as we he walked or search for whoever might be pursuing him. The archer didn't want to look paranoid about something, like he had a reason to be afraid someone was following him. If someone wanted to approach him about something, they could just come out and do it.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 14:25:14 GMT -5
Boy did Baxter see the last dog he wanted to see, almost as soon as he went out of the city, in a dark spot in the woods, he was accosted by Swift and her gang of ruthless mercenaries. The same gang that made a habit of eating ponies and humiliating newcomers. Basically the worst gang of grunts in Fillydelphia. He already had a sour tasting experience with them, but back then they had no idea who he really was.
He was easily outnumbered five to one, with Swift, a dog he knew was quite the fierce fighter in the lead. "Look it's wax boy. So I hear you were just a scrub, a scrub who let himself into my club, dared to lie to my face. Now I see you're trying to desert." She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Do you know what we do to deserters?" She asked, gesturing at the woods around her, where Baxter noticed the many upside down forms of still diamond dogs. "That Justiciar sure does like talking, makes a lot of the smarter ones run away. But Sharp can take care of that. We're here to catch those who think they can just up and leave. There must be order in the ranks, don't you agree? Anything to say for yourself?"
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Dec 1, 2012 14:41:59 GMT -5
Baxter had soon found who was following him. In the woods, she and four of her grunts had appeared. The wolf looked over at the diamond dog corpses hanging from the nearby trees. How pleasant.
"I don't trust the Justiciar, but Sharp's left me no reason to trust him either. For an invasion, this seems to be more about holding out and waiting for something to happen. Not to mention he's brought in changelings, sky pirates, and a dragon to participate." Baxter narrowed his eyes at Swift, waiting a few seconds before continuing. "The general suggested I leave and I want to know why. The only reason I'm still here now is because he requested I stay behind."
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 15:08:59 GMT -5
Swift pretended to yawn, "How boring. Really is that all you have to say? You call yourself a Winter Wolf? You're a coward, afraid to fight, afraid to die... Really? Sharp has a dragon working for him, would you really be so stupid to think he has no idea what he's doing?" She scoffed. "You just don't learn anything." She signalled her grunts, "Maybe we should teach you a lesson.
Baxter was surrounded, all the diamond dogs around him had bludgeoning weapons, even with his new equipment, he didn't expect to have a fighting chance against so many enemies at melee range, let alone veterans. Two of them jumped him, aiming the bludgeoning weapons to his joints, aiming to paralyze him. The first dog hit him dead on the hip, causing his leg to buckle, the other one caught him under the chin as he kneeled down, throwing him flat on his back.
"Well, well, looks like shiny equipment isn't everything... I think we'll take that though, could fetch a fine coin with the quartermaster." She signalled to her grunts, who brutally took off Baxter's equipment, leaving him naked.
"Alright boys, you can have your fun with him, just make sure you don't come back too late. Tomorrow we're raiding a resistance warehouse." Swift called out with a grin, giving Baxter a little wave goodbye and blowing him a kiss. "See you around wax boy. Bet you'll wish you still had some of that wax now..."
Needless to say, several hours later, Baxter found himself upside down, tied by his ankles, swinging back and forth from a tree. Worse than that, he had a repeat of Ponyville five times as bad and as long. Despite that however, even though he was conscious as it happened, he felt a bit stronger after, he realized that there was little in the way of pain that could affect him after all of that, physically or mentally. Not many could go through what he has and emerge alive time and again, even if it was bad enough to make him wish he wasn't. At least that was something. Anything.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Dec 1, 2012 15:25:42 GMT -5
Baxter could only watch as the dogs took his things, each of them then taking a turn doing their worst. By the time it was all over, he was upside down, hanging from a tree, bloodied, bruised, naked, weaponless. The wolf blinked several times, now alone in the woods, pain echoing throughout his battered body. How many times was this he'd been beaten up in the last few days? Three if you count getting thrown out a window. Oh, and four for the whipping. Can't forget that.
What was he going to do? He was in no condition to do anything. Going back to Fillydelphia meant he'd probably run into Swift's gang again, or at least someone else Sharp had set after him. Trying to find Ice Fang meant going through Everfree, alone, without armor and weapons, already beaten up. What was left? Running away? Back to the barresn? The one thing he didn't want to do?
The wolf let out a sigh, followed by a painful cough. The first thing he needed to do was get down from this stupid rope. He'd figured out what to do from there. Baxter tried his best to get himself down from the rope, curling up and attempting to untie or cut the rope with his claws.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 15:33:17 GMT -5
Baxter failed a few times before finally succeeding, but the one thing he forgot was the height he was hanging from. He found himself plummeting down and crashing into the ground. As though he wasn't in enough pain... but at least he was alive, even though walking was quite the issue now. Before making any real decisions, getting out of the area with dead bodies, where predators and scavengers were very likely to get to was the most prudent idea.
Swift's gang had left only a short while ago, but did not seem to hear him fall, as none of them returned. If anything he had a chance to get away, perhaps try and find an encampment, or try and double back to Fillydelphia from another angle.
On the other hand he could try his luck heading towards Hoofington, however being drenched in various scents and stenches was not going to play in his favor in Everfree. If he could find a river to clean himself up in, perhaps it would help him.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Dec 1, 2012 15:53:13 GMT -5
He was able to free himself from the rope, but quickly ended up crashing to the ground below. The wolf swore as he did, letting out another painful cough afterwards. Baxter eventually picked himself up onto his knees, and then onto his legs. He tried taking a few steps, only able to move at a slow rate with a great amount of pain. The winter wolf looked around, trying to decide what on earth he was gong to do next.
He couldn't try to find Ice Fang now, at least not in this state. If anything found him in the woods he'd be dead. He had no idea where the nearest encampment would be and whether the dogs there would even show any hospitality. Maybe he could try going back to Fillydelphia, taking a route that wouldn't run him into Swift's gang. He needed his stuff back anyways. He could find a house to rest in, and then when he'd regained some strength see about getting his things back from the quartermaster. Then he could try and find Ice Fang.
The wolf began making his way back to Fillydelphia, taking a non-direct route so as to avoid Swift's grunts. He looked around for one of the residence buildings, just trying to find the closest one. Hopefully there'd be no one inside, hopefully. But even if there was, he'd much rather deal with a pony than whatever was in the woods.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 15:55:53 GMT -5
The way to Fillydelphia was quiet and he ran into no one, Swift's gang was probably already asleep, euphoric about their capture of Baxter. At least no one would expect him to come back. He entered the first house he saw, fortunately no one found him there, and it seemed very empty.
Now he had to decide what to do next, how long to wait, and make a plan to get his equipment back.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Dec 1, 2012 16:24:29 GMT -5
Baxter was fortunate enough not to encounter anyone on his return to Fillydelphia, and was able to make it into a seemingly empty house. The wolf let out a sigh of relief, glad he had made it this far. He pulled himself up to the second floor, finding a bathroom and cleaning himself the best he could. Hopefully wiping some of the caked blood off would go a very small way towards making him stand out like a sore thumb. He still looked like a mess though.
Afterwards, the wolf made his way to a bedroom, sitting down on the bed as he tried to come up with what to do next. He needed to get his things back, and based off what Swift had said, they would likely sell them to the quartermaster, Baron. Now would have been a good time to try and steal them, considering how quiet the city was. However, the wolf was in no condition to attempt such a thing right now, and the dogs probably hadn't sold the items to the quartermaster by now anyways.
Maybe he could try and get to Baron first, convince him to take his stuff and give it back to him. But that was incredibly risky. Baron could just decide to keep them for himself and turn over Baxter back to Swift. Maybe he could say the bow and armor still belonged to the general, Ice Fang. That was why he needed them back. But if Swift or her grunts went into any detail about how they'd caught Baxter trying to 'flee' after meeting with the justiciar, then he'd definitely turn the archer over.
He could try meeting with Baron after they had sold him the items, but again if they'd told him about how they'd found Baxter... Ugh, why was this so difficult. The wolf rubbed his forehead, trying to come up with any other possibilities. He could steal them back. It didn't make him feel good about himself, considering Baron had been a reasonably nice dog, but did he have much of a choice? The quartermaster was going to end up wasting his money on buying the bow and armor regardless of what happened. Stealing the items seemed the only way of guaranteeing Baxter would get them back.
Baxter let out a sigh. He would have to give it a shot. Tomorrow though, around midday. Maybe a little later. He wanted to give Swift and her grunts enough time to hand over the bow and armor. Then Baxter could get his stuff and try finding Ice Fang again. Hopefully by the time all this had occurred, nothing would have happened to the other wolf. For now though, he needed to rest. The wolf pulled his legs onto the bed, laying down and waiting for sleep to arrive.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 16:34:07 GMT -5
Baxter woke up sometime during the next afternoon, luckily the house he was in was not searched or entered while he was asleep. He was still extremely sore and looked just as horrible as he felt, all of the recent trauma to his body seemed to have driven it to basically shut down, and all of Baxter's movements were jittery. He could barely stand, or hold anything, his limbs shook with every movement and stung as though struck by frostbite. The bath helped clean him and his wounds, but some re-opened during the night and caused great discomfort. The bruises were the worst, swollen all over his body, stinging, burning, patches of fur missing... he was a mess. How he could still walk around was a mystery. At least nothing was broken.
However, he was still naked, all except for his collar of course, which the diamond dogs did not remove, most likely because they felt it humiliated him and did not want to take it away, and maybe because it was a good choking instrument. Bruised, naked, and still somewhat bloody, he had slept for nearly a day, and was alone in a hostile city. What next?
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Dec 1, 2012 16:47:38 GMT -5
Baxter woke up still feeling completely terrible. He was still in extreme pain. His body stung and ached almost everywhere, his movements were jittery. He was a wreck.
The wolf slowly and deliberately made his way down the stairs. How he was going to get through Everfree even with his bow and armor, he didn't know. But he'd have to. One step at a time. The wolf opened the door to the outside, making his way towards the quartermaster's location he had just visited two days ago. He took side streets and kept himself as unnoticeable as he could, hoping that Swift's gang or anyone else looking for him wouldn't find him. The wolf went around the back way to Baron's location, not wanting to be spotted by the dog. He needed to assess the situation once he got there before actually trying anything.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 16:50:36 GMT -5
As he got near Baron's armory, he saw the Diamond Dog working with his son, sharpening swords, hammering shields, fixing spears and axes. They were very busy, the rest of the street was abandoned. He could try and sneak in the back. Where Baron would most probably have his armor and bow stashed. Maybe even lift a few arrows.
However, if Baron had a wife, she would probably be around there. It was a risk altogether. But at least there weren't any other dogs in the immediate area.
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