by Acteon » Sat Mar 17, 2007 4:03 am
Yes, the tracker had been scouted by the barmaid. His plan had been guessed and battle cry reacted to before it had even left his throat. But he too could foresee intended actions based on body movements. So, as Athena’s arm cocked back and sprung forward in effort to throw the dagger, the huntsman could already tell that the blade was to be thrown at him.
And, if Athena’s goal was the make the man falter, rather than kill him, she succeeded. Acteon twisted his body and turned his head, dropping his right ear to his shoulder, evading the incoming blade. The spiraling edge flipped and tumbled through the air of the darkened corridor until it made it contact with Acteon. It did not hit his neck, as he had moved out of the path of the blade, but it connected with his shoulder and the leather-shrouded plates of his brigandine that protected it. It bounced off, falling to the dirt of the cavern's floor.
Although Acteon was off-balance a bit as a result, his attack continued. Had his weight remained centered over his feet the force behind his blow would have been staggering, but his need to dodge the thrown dagger had diminished the power significantly.
That said; the kukri itself helped to compensate the loss of force. After all, the kinked blade design of a kukri is made to amplify and focus the power of a strike to a central point on its edge. It is this design that allows kukris to be used for everything from slashing throats to cutting wood like an axe. Also, the short length of the kukri made the weapon more manageable and less cumbersome than a long sword and less likely to get tangled in the woman's coat.
So, although, the coat hindered the onslaught of the kukri, the sharpened edge still caught and shred the heavy garment without too much struggle. But, by the time the kukri had cleared its obstacles, its trajectory had been deflected. The hunter’s original intent was to have the blade come down upon the woman’s skull. Instead, the combination of his off-balance attack and Athena’s coat had sent the blade arcing toward one of her arms that had held up her coat instead. His attack, which originally might have cut the arm clean off, was diminished to one that would probably not even get to her bone or it might simply flay the skin from her arm, depending on the angle at which it hit. If it hit at all.
Acteon had heard Carnath-Emory’s voice as he attacked the barmaid, but he could do little to stop it mid-strike. But her words had resonated in his head somewhere. For some reason, the fact that Acteon was still alive at all made him realize that Carnath-Emory was most likely correct. Acteon had heard little about this beast called The Baie, but from what he had heard, it dealt death quickly and no one had ever mentioned weapons when speaking of the monster. No, Carnath-Emory was probably right; this woman was not the Baie.
Acteon stepped back a bit, hesitating, looking rapidly at Carnath-Emory for the faintest fraction of a second, but maintaining his focus on Athena. After all, the woman probably still had fight in her yet...and rightfully so.