Learning the Ropes [Willow/Devil]

At some point during the trip Samanosuke had dozed off while thinking about battle strategies now that he had met the others in the group. They had four people that would be guaranteed in the middle of things: Alia, Yousef, Dogath and himself. Ban, Jared and Elizabeth could provided ranged support with their bows creating openings for the melee fighters. With Ban being in heavy armor he would also be capable of defending Jared and Elizabeth if one or two decided to turn their attentions to them. That was the main formation that the young Hylian had come up with and focused on before having dozed off. As the wagon came to a halt Samanosuke would be pulled from his light slumber somewhat jarringly.

Looking around with his hand tightly on the hilt of one of his swords he would quickly calm down as he realized that they weren't under attack. Shaking his head the boy would laugh to himself as he climbed out of the back of the wagon. Sliding his swords back through his belt he would look around. Spotting an unoccupied bush Samanosuke would follow the lead of a few of the other males in the group. Once finished he would return to the wagon and look around at the group his formation coming back into mind. Stretching for a moment as he waited for the rest to get back he would pull one of the small wooden charms from the pouch on his hip. Crouching down he would start making a rather rough sketch of his formation idea.

While he wasn't sure what the enemy camp looked like so it was just a simple box with around a dozen or so small x marks inside of it, one of the x's being significantly larger than the rest to stand for Rubyscale. On one side of the box were the letters A, Y, D, S, B, J, and E. The A, Y, D, and S were the closest to the box that represented the enemy base while the other three were in a small triangle with the B in front of the J and E. These letters were the first letter of each of their names and the crude diagram depicted the boys formation idea. He wasn't sure what the others would think of him coming up with a full formation since he was the newest of the group. Yousef and Dogath had history, that much was apparent. He was unsure if Dogath knew the others, but Yousef was sure to have know the other four since they came with him. Samanosuke was the newest member of the group, and didn't truly know anyone's strengths, weaknesses, or preferred tactics. Although he was able to gather a small amount of information from their weapons and armor. Of the entire group Ban was the most likely not to like the formation he had come up with. Having the guy in the heavy armor in the back using a crossbow wasn't the most common play after all.

"The Gerudo trained me both physically and mentally on varying aspects of battle. Of course this is the first real chance I've had to use most of my knowledge. Most of the training battles that I was taken on was a 'Do as your told and don't ask questions.' situation." With a little rubbing of his thumb the D had been erased and moved between the two groups. Now he started to draw some arrows from each of the letters. Those for Yousef, Alia, and his own were straight towards the base, as was the new D for Dogath and Ban's. Jared and Elizabeth's on the other hand were going opposite directions to circle around the base so that they could potentially flank an enemy or two. As he drew the final two arrows he would speak back up. "I think having Jared and Elizabeth attempting to flank after they stop shooting would be a good idea, they may also be able to line up a few extra shots from a far once they have changed position."

Samanosuke would start tapping the small charm over and over in a nearby spot as he looked at his drawing. "Hopefully there are a few decent sized rocks near the camp so that they can have a mixture of cover and a height advantage while firing. While it would be slightly helpful, it isn't a necessity either. Although it would help cover our approach up until the first shot." Pausing for a moment the boy would reach out and circle B, J, and E. "I think we should give the first shots to our archers. A few silent attacks could take down some unaware enemies, potentially causing them to group up to figure out what happened. That would be the perfect time for Dogath to strike. Better chance of him doing more damage to them." Oh god. It was happening again. Samanosuke was getting overly focused on planning even though he still didn't have any solid information to go off of. That being said, the plan was rather solid and it seemed as if Yousef had mostly agreed with it aside from Dogaths initial positioning.

Samanosuke would stand up from his crouch and lean against the back of the wagon. "Everything I own I have with me right now, so I'm prepared to walk." Looking towards Dogath he would take the basket when it was offered to him, pulling out a piece of dried fruit for himself before offering the basket to Yousef. "I don't think we can eat all of this ourselves so feel free to have some of it." While he may have been looking at Yousef, he was talking to everyone in the group. It wouldn't do if any of them were lacking on energy. Turning his attention back to Dogath he would chuckle a bit. "I'm glad that you have found some of our foods agreeable, without the need to add hot coals that is."

So he had been right about Yousef being part of the army after all. Although since he had been holding a royal decree it wasn't such a surprise. Looking over at his weapon and shield as Dogath spoke of Yousef's skills he couldn't say he was surprised. He was impressed that Yousef had such a great weapon and shield, he could only think about the day that he might have such a weapon of his own. Maybe he should become a Weaponsmith some day so he could tinker around with his weapons until he came up with a set up that he liked. One day maybe, but that wouldn't be for some time he was sure. "Well I'm glad to be going into battle with such great warriors at my side." While it was a bit of an assumption he had to assume that those that came with Yousef, and the one he had specifically sought out had to be close to his level of skill. Samanosuke was only worried about being able to keep up with them at this point. He never once slacked in his training in the fortress but this would be his first battle without a group of Gerudo waiting to step in if things went south. If things took a turn for the worst in this upcoming battle he would have to deal with it on his own, there was no safety net this time. He was just glad that he had at least some practice again Lizalfos in his time training. It would keep his confidence up at the very least.

Stepping out of the wagon Samanosuke would don the pack of emergency supplies that had been prepared for him. As Yousef went over the plan one final time the boy would just nod. "I guess I'll be in the center next to Alia then." There wasn't any real deep thought to his choice of positioning. Maybe it was because it was closest to the position he had determined in his earlier formation. Adjusting the swords that rested on either side of his hips he would tighten his belt slightly just before the group set off on their march. A few hours would pass before the enemy camp came into view. It wouldn't be long now before the fight was in full swing. All that was left was for Dogath to fire the first shot sounding the start of a bloody battle.

As the second volley was fired Samanosuke, Yousef, and Alia dashed forward towards the camp that was now in disarray. Yousef charged towards the Stalfos that had taken an arrow for his ally, his shield up and his mace ready. This particular Stalfos was one of the four-armed variants. It was clear that he also had nightvision since he had been able to spot the group to point them out after taking the arrow. The Stalfos would attack with both of his right arms his scimitars threatening to leave Yousef in pieces. The veteran warrior would block the Stalfos strike with his shield causing it to recoil and giving Yousef an opening to strike. With a high leap into the air and a front flip Yousef would flip up and over the Stalfos, his mace flying towards the back of its skull. Before he could make contact though the Stalfos would break apart and fall to the ground. The head of the Stalfos would start bouncing around to keep away from Yousef, but he had already found himself otherwise pre-occupied with the Lizalfos that the Stalfos had protected. The Lizalfos had aimed his ball and chain at Yousef the moment he landed. Luckily Yousef had spotted him while still in the air and was able to get his shield up in time. The impact would force him to slide back a few feet as well as leave his shield hand a little numb. He wouldn't be able to finish off the Stalfos, and could only hope that one of the ranged members of the group would be able to finish it off.

While Yousef started his encounter with the Stalfos, Alia had gone after the ground Lizalfos. Jumping high into the air, higher than most Hylian's would be able to, she would aim her spear down and would plummet downward hard and fast. The injured Lizalfos was too busy trying to reach the arrow in it's back to see the attack coming and paid the ultimate price. Pulling her spear from the corpse of the Lizalfos her eyes would land on the Common Moblin in front of her. It stood somewhere close to seven and a half foot tall, maybe a bit taller, and it was already rushing towards her in a mad blitz! Although the female Hylian hadn't been talked up as much as Yousef, she was no slouch. With her enhanced jump Alia would jump over the charging Moblin and land safely on the other side. It was at times like this she had wished she had learned Helm Splitter like Yousef. Gripping her spear tight she would keep her eyes focused on the beast in front of her.

Samanosuke had gone the opposite direction of Alia and had headed for the Goriya that had taken an arrow to the shoulder. As he approached he would grip the hilt of each of his still sheathed weapons tightly. The Goriya would swing his club at the boy with its good arm, but the young Hylian would drop to a slide drawing his blades as he did so. The Goriya's club would barely miss his head, while his two swords would cut into the thighs of the beast while he passed between it's legs. Standing up he wouldn't look back and would leave the heavily injured Goriya to his ranged companions. His target was the second Stalfos who was taking aim at Alia with a crossbow! He would focus on the sword in his right hand as he closed in of the Stalfos before unleashing a Gerudo Dragon at the skeleton's arm. The Stalfos hadn't seen it coming and thus his right arm would be cleaved at the elbow, the crossbow tilting upwards as it fired a bolt off. The bolt would soar high into the air, but it was of no danger to anyone with the angle it was fired at. Releasing the crossbow with it's left hand as a dark purple, almost black in the dead of night, mist sprayed from his hand. Samanosuke would immediately retreat from the miasma, coughing and stumbling as he did so. His stomach was turning and he felt as if he was going to throw up, but he knew he would have to fight on. The boy didn't have much of a choice actually, the Stalfos he had attacked had drawn its scimitar and was coming straight for him! As the scimitar came down to cleave him in half he would swing his sword up and to the side wildly. It would knock the scimitar off course, but his left shoulder would still be grazed by it. He would let out a cry a pain as he stumbled further back and out of the miasma cloud.

Jared, unlike Ban and Elizabeth hadn't run straight into battle. No he had made his way around the outskirts of the battlefield an arrow already notched in his bow. He was watching and waiting. Waiting for a clear shot on the Moblin that Alia was facing off against. As the two of them circled each other Jared would smile as the Moblin began circling towards him. Pulling his bowstring back he would quickly line up a shot before loosing his arrow. The high pitched whine of the arrow would get the Moblin's attention, but he wouldn't be able to avoid the it. The arrow would lodge itself deep into the elbow of it's main arm, causing it to drop its weapon, and giving Alia the opening she needed!

Indeed, the moment the weapon was free of it's owners grasp Alia would charge in with her already bloody spear. Pulling her weapon back she would thrust it forward with all her might. The blade of her spear would pierce the throat of the Moblin, before she pulled it out and took a step back. The Moblin would fall forward dead and lifeless as Alia took a moment to catch her breath.

As the Stalfos beared down on him again the young swordsman would bite his lower lip knowing he wouldn't be able to get his arm up in time to block. That was when Ban stepped in and blocked the strike with his shield. Not wanting to waste the opportunity that had just presented itself he would swing his left arm with all of his might at the spine of the Stalfos in front of him from below Ban's shield. With the shield obstructing the Stalfos' view of Samanosuke he never saw his impending doom approaching and was cut clean in half, his bones falling to the ground lifelessly. "Thanks Ban." Coughed out the young Hylian as he got to his feet. He would spot the Arealfos take to the skies and curse under his breath, but before he could decide what to do next his attention would be drawn to the final Moblin. The Miniblin was standing next to the Wolfos pen, a wicked smile on his face as he unlocked the cage and opened the door releasing the pack of five Wolfos into the mix. "HEADS UP WE HAVE MORE COMPANY!" This was all that Samanosuke could do at the moment to try and warn his friends of the newest threat. Luckily everyone was currently paired up with at least one other fighter, except for Dogath.

While Samanosuke hadn't been prepared to combat magic in this fight, it didn't mean the boy didn't know what to do. With a quick roll to his right he would avoid the magic bolt that had been aimed for him, while Ban would step back to avoid it. Looking over at him, then up at the Arealfos that had taken flight, and finally down to the Miniblin that was heading their way the young Hylian would only smile as he stood up and sheathed the katana in his left hand. While he preferred dual wielding, his would need to save his left arm for the fight against Rubyscale. Besides who needs to use two swords to take down a Miniblin in single combat?

"Ban, go find your crossbow and see if you Elizabeth and Jared can't turn that Arealfos into a pincushion."

Ban would smile as he nodded to the young swordsman and ran off towards the Goriya he had grounded earlier. His crossbow would be someone in the vicinity of of it's corpse. As Ban ran off Samanosuke would focus his attention on the Miniblin, glad that most spell had some glow to them which would let him spot any fire balls or magic bolts that would come flying his way. He held his right arm down at his side, the tip of his katana less than an inch above the ground. The Miniblin on the other hand held it's spear pointed up at the Hylian. Their attack range was similar thanks to the Miniblin using a long weapon, this fact gave the small creature confidence to attempt the first strike. It would quickly thrust it's spear towards Samanosuke's chest, but the Hylian would quickly side step it as he reached up and took hold of the spear behind the spear head with his left hand. His right arm was already flying forward in an upward stroke. Flames coated the blade of his weapon as he unleashed a Gerudo Dragon, slaying the small creature.

Turning around he would sheath his second katana and shift the spear to his right arm. He would lift the spear up next to his head, and pull his arm back before throwing the spear at the stumbling Lizalfos. The fire ball that hard struck it in the back had created just enough of an opening for the young Hylian to throw the spear at it. While he wasn't trained with throwing weaponry, he was a warrior nonetheless. The spear would fly true, striking the Lizalfos in the stomach causing it to drop down to one knee and let out a horrendous cry of pain. The Lizalfos wouldn't be left to suffer for long as Yousef came up behind it bringing his mace down hard on the top of it's head putting the creature out of it's misery.

With that all that was left was Rubyscale and his two bodyguards. Alia had made her way around one of the tents, allowing her to circle towards Dogath. She wasn't too keen on taking on a pair of Dinalfos by herself and had kept her distance. Yousef and Samanosuke were moving to back her and Dogath up and Ban found his crossbow and had started signaling Elizabeth and Jared about their flying foe. The battle was quickly coming to a close, and neither side was going to give an inch.

Ban, Jared and Elizabeth each readied their bows, crossbow in Ban's case, and aimed up towards the Aeralfos who had managed to slightly recover from his earlier rapid expenditure of magic. Not a moment too soon either as the Jared unleashed the first arrow with a twang. With a flick of his wrist a fireball would be unleashed from his wand directly in the path of the arrow incinerating it. Elizabeth had shuffled two steps to the right and loosed her arrow, the Aeralfos would fly up higher to avoid the second arrow not wanting to repeat his earlier expenditure rate. Unfortunately for the flying beast Ban's crossbow didn't have the tell-tell twang of Jared and Elizabeth's bows. No it was a much lower mechanical sound that had gone unnoticed by the Aeralfos. The result was the bolt ripping through one of the Aeralfos' wing. While the bolt hadn't made a fatal strike it would be enough to ground their opponent.

The Aeralfos would try it's best to glide downwards with his wounded wing, but the ground was approaching far quicker than he had wanted it too. Landing hard on his other arm he would feel and hear his bones crack as he skidded along the ground away from the group of archers. Standing up the Aeralfos would swing his arm, the one with the wounded wing, at Ban. From the tip of his wand.....wait....where was his wand? In the heat of the moment the Aeralfos had forgotten that the sharp pain in his wing had caused him to drop his wand. The quick descent that followed had made it impossible for the creature to see where his wand had fallen. The mage was left unarmed as Ban and Jared began their approach. Ban had his sword and shield at the ready, his crossbow laying upon the ground once more. Jared began circling around Ban his bow still in hand, an arrow already resting on the string of his bow. The moment the Aeralfos dropped it guard it would find an arrow lodging itself in its vitals. While the boys handled the grounded Aeralfos, Elizabeth had turned her attention to the two Dinalfos. Just like Jared was circling Ban, Elizabeth was circling Yousef and Alia with her bow in hand. She was just waiting to get a clear shot to help her friends down the fire breathing menace.

As Dogath slid back Samanosuke would run past him, his weapon still sheathed, as he headed towards Rubyscale. The lizard would hiss as it threw a punch towards the young Hylian, but Rubyscale would find that he wasn't the only one that was quick and agile as Samanosuke sidestepped the punch. The boy's right hand had found it's way to his the hilt of his weapon, and in one swift and fluid motion the blade had been drawn and was flying towards the unarmored lizards chest. Spinning to his right and leaning down Rubyscales tail would fly upwards and strike against Samanosuke's blade, sparks of magic flying from the impact of the metal tail clashing with the blade. His sword arm would be flung backwards from the impact as he winced at the bright flash from the magic. Samanosuke had almost been disarmed from that clash of power, but he knew the fighting tactics of Dinalfos all too well. As Rubyscale came back around the flames were already leaving his mouth in an attempt to cook the Hylian alive, but Samanosuke had been prepared for the flames and had already stepped back out of range, stopping next to Dogath. "Tch. He's better than I thought, if a little predictable. We're going to have to work together, and I have an idea." Looking down at Dogath a worried smile on his face as he looked towards the cannon before his eyes went back to Rubyscale. "Do me a favor and load that thing. I'll create an opening, don't waste it." It was a risky plan, but he trusted Dogaths aim. While Rubyscale may have been a smaller target than the barracks, he was also a closer target, so the young Hylian had faith that the bomb would be on target.

Drawing his other sword with his bloodied left hand he would hold the weapon down at his side and his extended his right arm out behind him. It was an unorthodox stance to say the least, but that was the stance Samanosuke was taking as he rushed in once more. Rubyscale wouldn't stand and wait knowing that it was a battle of speed and agility against the Hylian and he was intent on proving that he was the better of the two in those aspects. As the two closed in on each other the lizard would swipe at the Hylian's face only for the bottom of his gloves to be impacted by a flaming sword knocking his arm up and away. Realizing his compromised position he would pull his head backwards and quickly take a deep breath. Throwing his head forward he would exhale flames at Samanosuke who was still rushing forward! As the flames threatened to engulf him the young Hylian would only smile as he quickly executed the Spin Attack he had already begun to prepare for after his Gerudo Dragon had finished. The waves of force would push the flames away from his body and cause them to spin around him like a vortex. The heat was causing him to sweat and causing small burns all over his body, but there was more danger to Rubyscale than to Samanosuke. The slicing wave from his sword had cut into the lizard, but had been weaken after forcing it's way through the flames. With a hiss Rubyscale would stumbling off to his left as Samanosuke took a few steps to his left as well. "Now Dogath!"

Ban continued forward towards the injured Aeralfos that was rapidly scrambling backwards away from the heavily armored foe that was fast approaching. With him so focused on Ban, Jared loosed an arrow aimed for the Aeralfos' legs in an attempt halt its retreat away from Ban and its certain defeat. The arrow would pierce through the Aeralfos' thigh a few inches above its knee. The wound would cause the retreating Aeralfos to collapse in pain grasping at the arrow as a screamed out in pain. It would stifle its scream as Bans shadow was cast over it. Glaring up at Ban it would hiss up at him as Bans sword came down and cut deeply into the Aeralfos' chest causing it to fall to the ground lifelessly. The two of them would turn and start making their way towards Alia, Elizabeth, and Yousef to help with the Dinalfos they were facing off against. The quicker they finished it off the quicker the five of them could help Samanosuke and Dogath with Rubyscale.

Samanosuke could only watch as the cannonball missed its mark. Disbelief rushed over his face as Rubyscale rushed towards Dogath. Just how had Dogath missed the mark at such a short distance? He just couldn't wrap his head around how the speeding projectile had missed. Everything became clear as Dogath yelled out about the magnetism. While it was good to know what they were up against he couldn't help but scowl at the news. If he did in fact have magnetic abilities they had to be in those gloves of his which would give him a bit of an edge against his swords. Landing a decisive blow just became far more difficult.

With a quick flick of the wrists Samanosuke had flipped his swords into a reverse grip which was rather unorthodox for the young swordsman. With his new grip ready Samanosuke would charge in behind Rubyscale. Instead of extending his arms behind him to prepare for a slash, but rather lifted his arms up before throwing his arms forward one after the other. As his arms flew forward he would release the hilts of his weapons and send them flying towards Rubyscale. The first sword had sailed just in front of Rubyscale without striking him and causing him to turn his attention back to the young Hylian just in time to spot the second sword flying towards him. With a few quick and simple movements Rubyscale would use his gloves to deflect the second blade with ease.

Samanosuke had been following rather closely behind his thrown blades which had put him within striking distance of Rubyscale after he had deflected the second blade. While he didn't have a third bladed weapon to strike home with he wasn't left totally unarmed as Rubyscale would soon become aware of. The young samurai's right arm flew up with his sheathe in hand. The sheathe would land a solid blow to the side of Rubyscales head causing him to stumble backwards slightly. While the blow had hurt it wouldn't do much more than bruise him, assuming he managed to survive the night. Though Samanosuke wasn't done yet. As Rubyscale stumbled backwards, Samanosuke had stepped forward and thrust his second sheathe towards Rubyscales stomach in an attempt to keep him stunned.

Rubyscale would try to use his magnetic glove to push the strike away only to find that the sheathe wasn't made of metal but rather out of wood. That fact would let the thrust land true and cause Rubyscale to take even more steps back, a maneuver that Samanosuke would actually mirror. The sheathes wouldn't let him land any fatal strikes, but would let him bypass those pesky magnetic gloves, even if they would leave him slightly more vulnerable to Rubyscales fire breath and metal club of a tail.