11-02-2022, 06:24 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-02-2022, 06:25 PM by Godric Gryffindor.)
Godric watched the pattern of steps in front of him. It was a little confusing when the tracks changed course and then split ways.
Maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe the men had simply had early work and decided to leave, walk home and were now parting ways to return to their own homes. Maybe this whole thing was a lark.
Then again, were that the case, why had the fourth, slightly smaller set of tracks left the beaten path? It made no sense unless they, too, were returning home. Maybe he'd mistaken Astrid's footsteps for someone else's.
No, not possible. He was looking rather carefully and saw none of the telltale markings of someone recently heading up to the castle. Just to be on the safe side, he cast a few spells to illuminate the area a bit better and make sure he wasn't making a mistake. Of course he wasn't but he needed to be safe about this. Attacking three men for no reason would certainly not win him any favors down here. Then again, even with a good reason, it might have the same effect. What choice did he really have though? She was a woman - alone. He couldn't just stand by and let anything happen to her because of his mood. Chivalry was the estimation of a man's behavior, especially when he is at his worst.
Thus, he picked up the pace a little. While he had to be careful not to erase tracks, he also couldn't risk being too late to help her if she was in need of it. Silly woman, why couldn't she just wait on him to walk her back!!
He heard the scuffle from a good distance and was now ignoring the signs and, instead, following the sounds. He hadn't heard any discussion just the sounds of struggle. Godric was enraged that men would stoop so low. It didn't matter a woman's temptation; they should be able to keep themselves in check! It wasn't that hard.
"Stop!" He yelled as he reached the group, pulling the man holding his head back and pushing him to the ground. "You'll stay there if you know what's good for you!" Godric snarled before turning back on the others.
"Walk away. Just walk away, no harm done. This is your only warning."
That was a joke but if it got Astrid out of the path of harm's way while he dealt with business, that was the important thing.
Apparently, it was a non-issue because both men laughed at him. Literally laughed at him. It just meant he'd have to be a bit more careful not to get her hurt in the process. He'd been in that situation before and failed miserably. Godric would not live through that again. At least it didn't seem like anyone had a knife this time...
Immediately, he launched himself at the closest one, pulling the man off of his feet and thew him at the other one to know them both down. He bore down on them. When they tried scrambling up onto their feet, he kicked their legs out from underneath of them, unwilling to bend. "You do not accost ladies on the street, no matter the time of day." He roared, not caring who heard him. "Or I will hear about it and you will walk away with more bruises than you have body parts."
One of them made an indecent comment about his referral to Astrid as a lady, to which Godric responded with a solid punch to the nose, promptly dropping the man flat on his back. It freaking hurt like hell. He might have lost his temper and hit the man with the wrong fingers but he wasn't going to stop now.
Of course, he had such faith in his abilities that he never noticed the third man creeping up on them until there was a loud "thwump" and the sound of someone hitting the dirt. He spun around to see that the third man had tried to get up and attack him. He was now sitting on the ground, holding his head more than he had before with blood running down his nose. Godric looked to Astrid, a little befuddled that she had ruined her beautiful instrument. Or even had the sense to to come out of the shock of being attacked to act.
Then again, this was her womanhood that they'd been after. A little payback was due.
The next few minutes, Godric got into a good fight with the two men who'd taken advantage of his turned back to get up on their feet. Unfortunately, these men were just farmers, shop keeps, or somewhere in between. Nothing that could hold out long against him. Eventually, they limped off into the night, leaving Godric standing there with a few (definitely) broken fingers, a broken nose, a very loose tooth, and quite a few bruises. Yet they'd still gone away looking worse than he did so he counted it as a win.
After taking a few deep breaths, he turned to Astrid to ask her if she was alright. It was hard to see in the dimmer torch light but for the most part, she seemed unmolested. Instead, he let it be for now. Women didn't normally like talking about their trauma and this wasn't likely to be her first brush with such types, considering her background. "are alright enough to walk to the castle or do you need me to carry you?"
Okay, probably not the best way to start but he was suddenly tired and knew by morning, he was going to look like hell. He was going to be in so much trouble. His best hope was that a little sleep would go a long way.
Maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe the men had simply had early work and decided to leave, walk home and were now parting ways to return to their own homes. Maybe this whole thing was a lark.
Then again, were that the case, why had the fourth, slightly smaller set of tracks left the beaten path? It made no sense unless they, too, were returning home. Maybe he'd mistaken Astrid's footsteps for someone else's.
No, not possible. He was looking rather carefully and saw none of the telltale markings of someone recently heading up to the castle. Just to be on the safe side, he cast a few spells to illuminate the area a bit better and make sure he wasn't making a mistake. Of course he wasn't but he needed to be safe about this. Attacking three men for no reason would certainly not win him any favors down here. Then again, even with a good reason, it might have the same effect. What choice did he really have though? She was a woman - alone. He couldn't just stand by and let anything happen to her because of his mood. Chivalry was the estimation of a man's behavior, especially when he is at his worst.
Thus, he picked up the pace a little. While he had to be careful not to erase tracks, he also couldn't risk being too late to help her if she was in need of it. Silly woman, why couldn't she just wait on him to walk her back!!
He heard the scuffle from a good distance and was now ignoring the signs and, instead, following the sounds. He hadn't heard any discussion just the sounds of struggle. Godric was enraged that men would stoop so low. It didn't matter a woman's temptation; they should be able to keep themselves in check! It wasn't that hard.
"Stop!" He yelled as he reached the group, pulling the man holding his head back and pushing him to the ground. "You'll stay there if you know what's good for you!" Godric snarled before turning back on the others.
"Walk away. Just walk away, no harm done. This is your only warning."
That was a joke but if it got Astrid out of the path of harm's way while he dealt with business, that was the important thing.
Apparently, it was a non-issue because both men laughed at him. Literally laughed at him. It just meant he'd have to be a bit more careful not to get her hurt in the process. He'd been in that situation before and failed miserably. Godric would not live through that again. At least it didn't seem like anyone had a knife this time...
Immediately, he launched himself at the closest one, pulling the man off of his feet and thew him at the other one to know them both down. He bore down on them. When they tried scrambling up onto their feet, he kicked their legs out from underneath of them, unwilling to bend. "You do not accost ladies on the street, no matter the time of day." He roared, not caring who heard him. "Or I will hear about it and you will walk away with more bruises than you have body parts."
One of them made an indecent comment about his referral to Astrid as a lady, to which Godric responded with a solid punch to the nose, promptly dropping the man flat on his back. It freaking hurt like hell. He might have lost his temper and hit the man with the wrong fingers but he wasn't going to stop now.
Of course, he had such faith in his abilities that he never noticed the third man creeping up on them until there was a loud "thwump" and the sound of someone hitting the dirt. He spun around to see that the third man had tried to get up and attack him. He was now sitting on the ground, holding his head more than he had before with blood running down his nose. Godric looked to Astrid, a little befuddled that she had ruined her beautiful instrument. Or even had the sense to to come out of the shock of being attacked to act.
Then again, this was her womanhood that they'd been after. A little payback was due.
The next few minutes, Godric got into a good fight with the two men who'd taken advantage of his turned back to get up on their feet. Unfortunately, these men were just farmers, shop keeps, or somewhere in between. Nothing that could hold out long against him. Eventually, they limped off into the night, leaving Godric standing there with a few (definitely) broken fingers, a broken nose, a very loose tooth, and quite a few bruises. Yet they'd still gone away looking worse than he did so he counted it as a win.
After taking a few deep breaths, he turned to Astrid to ask her if she was alright. It was hard to see in the dimmer torch light but for the most part, she seemed unmolested. Instead, he let it be for now. Women didn't normally like talking about their trauma and this wasn't likely to be her first brush with such types, considering her background. "are alright enough to walk to the castle or do you need me to carry you?"
Okay, probably not the best way to start but he was suddenly tired and knew by morning, he was going to look like hell. He was going to be in so much trouble. His best hope was that a little sleep would go a long way.
