I read this a few years ago, probably either shortly after it was printed or a short time after... but I ended up c&p'ing it onto notepad to read at other times, because I absolutely loved the story, and how it made me feel like I was there watching from the shadows...
®SANDARS® RAID
……….as Told By Sandar
Saturday, my Brother Blood Warrior and I prepared for a raid upon the Caravan of Lady Nyx. I had thought of making this raid a long time ago when I chanced upon a post made by the Lady stating that her gold was contained in a chest which was located beneath a false floor in her wagon.
During our preparation for the raid, we had very pleasant surprise. Our Sister Solari, who has been absent for so long returned to the family. I considered this to be a most pleasant omen. Little did I know, at that time, the problems that would arise from this event as our Sister insisted that she be allowed to accompany us on the raid. But, to put it more bluntly, She demanded participation saying that She was coming with Us whether We liked it or not.
Brother Blood Warrior and I discussed, via PM, the thought of chaining her to the dais and leaving the key where Commander BC would be sure to find it, but decided not to do this in Our joy at her return.
According to the plan that I had developed with Blood Warrior, we departed our home and journeyed to Webmaze Circle. I entered the camp first noting that there were but two guards present along with one lone 'probationary' Warrior named Martak..
The Lady Nyx seeing our approach was eager for trade as she has a reputation as being a great negotiator, and as I had anticipated, the Lady invited me into her wagon to conduct the trade. As I mounted the steps of her wagon, Brother Blood Warrior moved to the back of the wagon and took up a position to cover me. Entering the wagon, with a very large sack in hand, I opened it allowing the sack to fall to the floor and peered inside telling the Lady that what was contained therein was very, very valuable. When she bent over to see to the bottom of the sack, I pulled it up, over her head, down past her arms, to her ankles and cinched it tight around the ankles.
Hearing the commotion, Blood Warrior threw three saddlebags into the wagon and then took out one of the guards. The second guard drew down on Blood Warrior, but his aim was distracted when Solari caused her kaliia to bump into his. This 2nd guard finally being dispatched by Blood Warrior with a good shot from his bow.
Meanwhile, I was busy removing the false floor and scooping handfuls of gold into the three saddlebags. The Lady Nyx was making the most god-awful screeches and curses at us poor Tuchuk.
Blood Warrior held off the warrior Martak and the three of us made out escape with the gold, but not before that damnable Lady Nyx managed to escape from the confines of the sack and hurled a frying pan, striking me in the shoulder.
Riding onto the Plains of Turia, our party rode into a coulee to give our animals a rest and to divide the loot. My original plan was to then release the kaliia and mount three tarns, which had been hidden in the brush at the top of the coulee. But, we had no sooner gotten a chance to take a breath than upon the horizon came Kurzon, and Martak. Followed by Lady Nyx and of all people Utar. Blood Warrior and I had a real surprise for instead of coming to our aid, Utar joined the opposition.
A long fight ensued in the coulee with Blood Warrior and I having to be a rear guard to allow Solari to escape. We managed to delay the opposition, fighting furiously up the trail while Solari mounted one of the three tarns and made her escape with one of the saddlebags.
Using all of our skill, Blood Warrior and I managed to reach a point on the trail where I had hidden a large barrel filled with thalarion oil, and during a brief lapse in the fighting, I tipped this barrel over causing the slippery oil to flow down the trail. Our opponents could not fight while attempting to keep their balance thus giving Blood Warrior and I time to mount our birds and return to our home.
'Twas then that the problems began. Since Solari had been a wild card in the plan, via PM, I talked with my partner and decided that she should have something for her efforts. It was decided that since this had been our plan, since we had been the ones who had taken the beatings, the arrows and the sword wounds that a 2-2-1 split would be appropriate.
Rising from my furs, I made my way across the camp, and dumped the contents of the saddlebag upon the edge of Blood Warriors fur and commence to make the count.
Upon noting the division of the loot, Solari took exception. At first, I thought that she didn't want anything at all and it then dawned upon me that she wanted a full third.
Then, for reasons beyond my knowledge, my sister grabbed the empty saddlebag and threatened to return the booty to the Lady Nyx. My attempt to reason with her failed, even telling her that the bag was empty had no effect and she left before the post so stating could be found and relayed to her.
Continuing with the 'count', I had the thought that this was not going to end in the manner in which I had hoped. So when the final tally was made, I pushed the eighty double-weight gold which was Blood Warriors share, toward him, placed my eighty double-weight in my pocket and left Solaris' share on the fur.
While limping across the camp, it came to me that gold and the want of gold had caused the dissension between my brother and my sister and as much as I wished it, I could not keep this gold. For gold can buy many fine things, but it can not buy the love and respect of family. 'Twas with this thought in mind, I paused at the central fire and threw the bright coins into the blaze.
The Raid …
…….As told by guards 2 and 3
well Me and My buds were sitting In a paga tavern in Port Kar when We was approached by the Tavern Keeper…he told us that We could earn a few coins and have a quiet and easy trip to Turia if We signed on with this lady merchant that was heading that way…. As We owed for lodging and board for the week to the same Tavern Keeper this seemed like a good Idea…so We gathered up Our stuff and headed out to find the caravan…..
first part of the trip was rather boring and then we got approached by a couple of Tuchuk Outriders looking to trade…I didn't trust them right from the start… but Bob well he was busy checking out the ankles of the Tuchuk Free Woman that was riding with them…
before We knew what was happening one of the Outriders was up on the lead wagon grabbing at the Merchant and trying to stuff Her head in a bag….Me and the Boys though had trouble of Own as the other Outrider had just killed poor Bob with a quarrel between the eyes (bummer, as Bob owed me two silver from a dice game)…. Well We couldn't let this go unanswered so it was blades out and to the attack…. It was then we got jumped by an additional 5 or 6 Tuchuks… We fought valiantly but the numbers were too great even though we clearly the better fighters…. *looks over at My buddy, who nods and says..."oh at LEAST! Maybe 7 or 8!" Old Ralph tried to capture the Tuchuk Free woman and almost got her but was swarmed by the outriders and cut down...it was a miricle that He managed to survive....I personally fought off three of the attackers till a 4th took Me from behind with a blow to the back of the head... though I managed to dispatch him, things get a bit blurry after that.....…
The Tuchuks grabbed the chest of gold and hot footed it for the Horizon….well Me and Ralph were all set to hunt them down and recover the gold but this Old one-eyed Guy showed up and started giving Us hassles about being lousy guards and Not protecting His Woman from a couple of measly Tuchuks…
We didn't need to put up with that shit so We took Our money from the merchant, who only paid us HALF wages....I mean, what about the Danger Pay, Funeral expenses for Bob!......the two silver Bob owed me?..... and headed back to the tavern in Port Kar…. Last We saw was Him holding a piece of cloth out to the two biggest and nastiest looking black sleen I have ever seen….Ya know come to think of it I wondered if that Tavern keeper didn't set us up....
Lady Nyx's story
Travelling across the plains in my old wagon, several pack kaiila following, I wondered at the wisdom of hiring these "guards" who accompanied me. Most of their time had been spent guzzling down paga and seeing who could spit the farthest, so I got old Koz, my bosk, to pick up the pace and thankfully didn't have to watch them anymore.
It was hot, the sun was not letting up and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Suddely Koz did his "Tuchuks coming!" snort, which is sort of between a grumble and a snot-blowing cough, and I looked around, spying two Tuchuks...no, three. The third was a woman. The first approached, indicating he wanted trade, it was Sandar!
Well, I relaxed and invited him into the wagon to see the merchandise I had for trade. He had this sack....which kinda smelled like bosk dung.....and mentioned there was something valuable inside. When I leaned forward to look...and Odin, I should have know better, him being a Tuchuk and all....he (very ungentlemanly I might add) slipped the sack over me and tied it around my ankles!
I heard the commotion of fighting outside, but was hardly able to breath, the stench of bosk overwhelming and besides, he had messed my hair! Lucky for me, the Tuchuk forgot the basic rule....remove the woman's shoes and socks....thus making it relatively easy for me to slip the knife from my belt and start hacking at the sack. I hacked even quicker when I heard the unmistakable sound of MY GOLD being found and moved!
I finally flung the shredded sack off me, just in time to see Loki's own (Sandar) jumping out of the wagon with MY GOLD in some saddle bags. I grabbed the first thing off the wall of the wagon, which was a frying pan, and was extremely satisfied to see it hit him in the shoulder. However, they made off with around 200 gold tarns...did I mention this was MY GOLD?
Disgusted with the ineptitude of the "guards"....drunken sots.....I paid them half price just as Kurzon arrived. We put out the call to the other Torvaldslanders, and hurried after the Tuchuks. I'll not bore you with the long and involved battle that ensued, but the Tuchuks could obviously see we were winning when they pulled a very underhanded trick of slopping oil all over the fighting field and skedaddling off. Actually, not a bad move....I'll remember it *S*
I headed home, bemoaning the fact of MY GOLD being in Tuchuk hands now, and was not home more than two heartbeats, when who comes in......the Tuchuk woman...Solari. She tells me this fantastic tale of returning MY GOLD to me.....which I thought rather nice until I saw the sack was empty. She was highly puzzled over this, and while she was distracted trying to figure it out, I helped her into a cage and locked her in. *gentle smile*.
Sending a carrier vulo to the Tuchuks, with terms for Solari's release, I was pleased to see Blood Warrior step into the Fjord. He came in just as another Warrior, from Port Kar, offered me 300 gold for Solari. Well, I always was a woman with an eye for a bargain, but to be honest, I wanted the gold back from the Tuchuks.
Blood Warrior and I haggled, which I thought added a bit of entertainment to the evening. It seems he wanted to pay 200 gold for Solari, but (and I pointed this out) I did have an offer of 300......*sweet smile* The end result was Blood Warrior, in a generous mood I guess, finally paid back 350 gold tarns and gently ~coughs~ took charge of His Sister and left. I cannot imagine why he was so miffed, but I do not try to gauge a Warrior's mood *soft smile*
All in all, I do believe I came out ahead *S*
