Varesh's ranting gives Spire plenty of warning before the sword comes at him. He meets Merdez's eyes again, a half a moment's pause of calm. Then he plants his feet and dips his shoulder, shoving off of the floor into a wild roll just as Varesh's sword comes down for him. That's not helping his position any, but it at least avoids him being immediately skewered.

The Lord is yanked away, "Damn peasants...." He mutters as he watches the pretty birdies above his head.

The sword is slashed downwards at an arc as Varesh charges by Spire, flipping the sword abit in his right paw as he moves. He'll probably miss due to bad coordination but heck, it’s worth a try. The fox stops and almost stumbles before regaining his posture, growling crazily. The thane's fur sticks up as he looks towards Spire and then towards Kayoss.

Kathryn would really like to escape right about now. Unfortunately for her…the entryway is slightly blocked by just about everyone in the room cutting at each other's throats. Kathryn un-balls herself and switches positions to her back, sighing as she looks up towards the ceiling and contemplates life. No mass of unorganized, shameless fighting is going to stop her!

Kayoss reaches out with a foot to try to kick the door open, and it finally swings open with a quick shove. The ratmaid looks back once more, as the door opens, and she catches sight of the scene with Spire and the two idiot foxes. ".. he needs help.." she states, before cursing loudly. That's really all the news from the Kay-box right now.

Alan grits his teeth... He hates to say it, but... "We can't stop now." He looks back at Spire only momentarily, nodding his head, and turns to leave, picking immediately up to a run with Kay in his arms.

Varesh ducks Bane's attempt at trying to take his head off as he passes.

Rab chides DeBoule. "Silly fiend. I told you to behave yourself. Wasn't it you who said meddling in their affairs was stupid? Look at you, your a mess!" Naughty boy.

Merdez is free! The foxlord draws back from the scuffle and pulls himself to his feet. The foxlord immediately sizes up the situation. This includes Alan's fleeing form, and Kathryn. Stupid chivalry! The foxlord crosses to Kathryn at once, offering a paw, "Come with me, Lady Kathryn. Let's get you out of here."

DeBoule glares, "I was trying to have some fun... Apparently... Morons can fight back..."

Varesh's awkward swing misses, but Spire is tiring quickly. He stumbles to his feet and looks toward the door. What's that? Are they /finally/ out of the room? Panting, he makes a dash himself, as Merdez is preoccupied.

What? Oh.. right. Finally. Kathryn hops to her feet quickly, taking his paw willingly. "Good idea.."

The Slaughterthane chases after Spire, slashing madly with his sword and he jumps forwards trying to land on Spire's back to pin him face first against the ground. Yeah....he's nuts. Ain't it peachy?

Rab rolls her eyes, hefting DeBoule onto his footpaws. "What did you expect, a captive audience? Of course they fight back. It's all they know. Are you injured?"

DeBoule is really dizzy and the hefting doesn't help, "Ugh. No. Just bruises... And... They are dead. If I see either, they die."

"Let me handle them. You need a stiff drink and a good salt soak. Back to the manor with you, young hob." Rab clucks, maternal-like in many ways.

Merdez actually manages a strained smile with Kathryn, and he leads the vixen out of the Hall of Law, and into the Gallows Square. This is assuming he does not crash into Spire on the way out. He is confident his Slaughterthane can handle the rat.

Spire would turn to fight Varesh, but that would be very stupid considering the circumstances. He keeps just slightly ahead of the wild slashing, and the jumping up on the back thing...well, that doesn't work well on a level surface with such a heavy weapon. It actually gives Spire a very slight lead. His purpose is the door, not Merdez, though if the foxlord gets in the way...

Compest suddenly runs in, his cloak blowing behind him, his sword unsheathed in an attack stance. He is grinning as he runs right past Merdez, leaps into the air, and slashes his sword towards Varesh.

Bane follows through with the attack just to twist the bladed weapon in his paws, ready to execute another move. His eyes follow the Slaughterthane then the wildcat moves to a position to intercept the rat at the door, leading forward with the point of his axe to Spire's middle.

As he lands, Varesh thrusts the sword up and jumps towards Compest trying to spear his belly as the weasel's sword slashes across the right side of his face and across his eyes, blood splattering all over.

DeBoule rrrrghs and starts stumbling out... Rage.

What. The. Heck. Trace hears the commotion from the hall of law, not to mention the rat and fox that just darted past her, and the ratmaid pokes her head into the doors with a look of disgust. First off, /why/ are random people attacking other random people. "What is going on in here!!!???" the guard captain states, in a scream.

Merdez tries his best to make it outside of the Hall with Kathryn, Spire or no. If Spire runs out, Merdez will let him run. He has more important things to do, "Lovely evening, Trace." he says, "Help with the doors, please." the foxlord pushes against the heavy doors, closing them on Compest, Bane and Varesh.

Compest lands on the floor using his right footpaw. He thrusts his sword the opposite direction, clinging against Varesh's blade, blocking his attack. Still grining, the weasel leaps up again, his right footpaw now kicking towards Varesh's face. He yells some battlecry as he does this, something like, "KAJAREEEE!!!!!"

The foxes dagger is drawn quickly as the sword is hit aside. The dagger is sliced at an angle to try and sever the weasel's Achilles tendon as Varesh ducks the kick.

And Spire. The rat doesn't make it through the doors, as his own momentum works against him in his last ditch effort to avoid Bane's weapon. The spike goes in, almost all the way, slightly to the left of middle and below the ribs. Spire's only response is a sudden explosive loss of air. He jerks backwards off the spike and then stumbles.

Compest winces slightly as the dagger manages to slice somewhat at him, but doesn't go deep enough to cause permanent damage. He snarls as he manages to see Spire fall, and when he lands on the ground in a circular motion, he leaps forward again, silent as his sword now stabs towards Bane, leaving Varesh behind.

The weasel has now stopped the attack cry. He is completely silent as he attacks the wildcat.

As Compest leaps, so does Varesh towards his back as he goes for Bane. The fox slashes at the weasel with his sword in an upwards arc but doesn't swing with his dagger.

Trace spins around with a sudden, "What???" before she looks to the door and then helps to slam it shut. "This is bloody /insane/..." Trace states, as her widened eyes watch the scene playing out in the Hall.

Bane smiles and looks down his blade, enjoying the expression that Spire's face takes on, feeling that sudden slip of his blade tip. He pulls the blade back and rushes forward. His paws tip the blade point forward to parry Compest's stab, then turns the opposite end to swing at the weasel's side to knock him away.

Merdez stops as DeBoule and Rab slink out, but then closes the doors with a tremendous push. The foxlord grins and pull out a large iron key from his satchel. He slips it into the large lock, and locks the door, trapping Spire, Varesh, Bane and Compest inside. "My dear friend." Merdez pants, "Go and fetch the guards, if you would. /Lots/ of them. Have them surround the building and barricade the doors. Tomorrow we'll find out who has to be punished and/or hired in there!"

Spire pushes both feet against the stones of the floor and and shoves himself backwards. His right paw is clutching the wound rather futilely, and dizzy as he is, he can't seem to get himself to sit up.

Compest leaps forward as Varesh swings his sword at Compest, missing the weasel. He hits the ground on his side as his sword is blocked thus missing Bane's attack. He rolls to the side and then is sitting up again in a kneeled position, his sword held out straight to the side of him. Panting lightly, he slowly looks to Merdez. "Nice try," he says slowly, before reaching behind his cape, pulling out a small knife. He throws the knife with complete accuracy at Varesh, then leaps forward, kicking at Varesh's middle, trying to knock him down.

The fox lands and the knife of complete accuracy hits his shoulder as he ducks and slashes at Compest's groin area with his sword, double-pawed as he drops his dagger. Blood falls down his face as he begins to weaken.

Trace runs off to go get guards. Yeehaw!

Spire isn't any help in this fight. He's curled in on himself, lying on the side and shoving his fist into the bleeding wound. And yes, he bleeds profusely, making a neat little crimson puddle beneath him.

Shaking, Kathryn follows Merdez's lead out of the hall, and she lets go of his paw as she's out in the fresh air. "Thank you, Lord Merdez. I'm not sure if I could have been in there much longer. Boy, am I grateful you got me out," she smiles weakly. "Now, if you'll excuse me…I'm going to go throw up now."

Compest snarls as he stands directly infront of Varesh now. His blade knocks away the fox's sword, as the hilt of his sword swings forward in an attempt to slam into the fox's face. His other paw, in the meantime, swings forward, palm outstretched in an attempt to hit the knife that is now in the fox's shoulder, to make the wound and pain worse than it is.

The sword is knocked aside and dropped and as they are now in much closer quarters, Varesh sidesteps a bit and moves his arm to avoid the knife-swipe. In the same motion, the dagger he holds changes paws and get slammed at the weasel's exposed belly, twisting the blade as well, the close situation making a sword swing quite hard.

Bane turns his attention to the wounded Slaughterthane, then to Compest. He straightens upright and watches the battle for the moment, watching for who will get the upper hand, for he might be his next attacker.

Merdez puts the key back in his satchel and sighs deeply, "I am sorry you had to witness that, your ladyship." he says to Kathryn, "Feel free to regurgitate as much as you'd like. I cannot blame you."

But the weasel is swift and quick with great accuracy... perhaps from years upon years of training. The sword swings to the other side of him, knocking the shorter dagger away from him. Once more, he swings his sword in a circular position, and the hilt swings upward, again trying to knock Varesh off his footpaws and onto the ground. To add more to the attack, his knee swings upward, trying to knee the fox in his stomach.

Trace comes back into the hall of law, followed by a few guard, and she stands outside in the hallway, staring at Merdez. "So… /what/ was /that/ supposed to be, Merd?? And why is the Hall of Law locked??" She isn't /mad/…just…sort of confused about everything o.o

The fox hops back, Compests blade missing this time. The fox has years of training as well and as the sword goes up and then the knee, Varesh throws his dagger straight at Compests chest.

Kathryn nods her head, looking fairly sick, really. "Okay.. I--" Nope. Not finishing that sentence. And there she goes...getting sick all over the place. She pulls herself together, trying not to look quite so pale as she faces Merdez. "And -I'm- sorry you had to witness that, My Lord. It's not exactly ladylike of me, but…Great Seasons, what is going on in there?" she asks, now looking for some answers.

Spire makes an effort. Still clutching his wound, he rolls slowly forward, and then up...with a great deal of effort he's in some semblance of a sitting position, doubled over himself. He just stays like that for a little, gasping like a beached fish.

Merdez smiles, looking a little crazed "We have a number of rather battle-ready beasts in there, along with a traitorous guardsbeast." he says, "We're going to keep them all in there, and then open up the Hall tomorrow, with a full compliment of guards of course, and see what comes out. Then we'll figure out all of this mess." he laughs a little, "Sound like a good plan to you?"

Compest steps to the side and turns so that the dagger flies right past him, slightly slashing his chest. The weasel doesn't give up at all, not putting his guard down for a moment. He turns to face the fox again, and as the fox leaps back, Compest leaps forward, his sword now slashing at the fox's left leg in an attempt to perhaps demobilize him. To any beast watching his attempts are clear: He wishes to capture the fox, not kill him or damage him permanently.

Kathryn nods her head, "If you say so, My Lord…but…won't many of them be dead tomorrow?" Looks like she's missing the point.

Bane's ear flickers towards Spire, as he hears his labored breathing. The wildcat turns and walks towards Spire, keeping an eye and ear on the fight, for any possible flying objects from Compest. "Looking pale," He stops behind Spire and shifts into a stance. He smirks.

"This all sounds absolutely insane," Trace states, folding her arms across her chest. "The guards are there…and I suppose this sorts out the best fighting beasts. But…still, it sounds ridiculously over dramatized."

The sword cuts into air then into his left leg slightly as he barely shifts in time. Varesh slams a clawed first at Compests' exposed throat trying to for the most part tear it out and grab his shirt with his other paw.

Spire crawls the short distance to the doors, only to find them locked. He leans his shoulder against them, just as Bane steps up. This allows him to be able to hear the conversation going on on the other side, though the usefulness of that is debatable, considering that Bane has noticed him again. He lifts his head and squints at Bane. "I suppose..." the rat murmurs, loud enough to be heard himself.

Bane twists his hips and in a chopping motion, aims for the wounded rat's neck.

"Just get more guards and barricade these doors, will you?" Merdez says, sounding slightly cranky. He is beginning to feel the pain from the slash in his side, "I'm not going to let any of these beasts escape. Stars alone know what the full story is, but I plan to find it out." he glances to Kathryn, "And yes, some of them may be dead. A price that must be paid, sadly."

Compest's arm lifts, blocking Varesh's one paw. The other however grabs his shirt, but this doesn't seem to stop the weasel from using this move to his advantage. As his shirt is grabbed, Compest swings his sword to the other side, now slashing at the Fox's other footpaw, and as he does this, the weasel reaches into his belt, using the paw he successfully blocked Varesh's slashing claws with, to pull out a knife, and throws it towards the fox's other footpaw, the one already cut. At the same time, without any hesitation, the weasel yells, extremely loudly, "I HAVE YOUR FOX CAPTURED MERDEZ! OPEN THE DOORS NOW!!!!"

The fox jumps up as the knife and sword slash miss and lands in front of Compest. As the weasel shouts, he gets a feral fox slashing with claws crazily at his face, chest and throat and trying to slam him back to the ground. Size does matter and the fox has it.

Kathryn nods again, "No doubt, Lord Merdez." She notices the slash in his side, and she frowns, "You're hurt. We need to get you some--" but she's cut off by the yelling of Compest, and she looks to Merdez with an arched eyebrow, "Think he's bluffing?" she listens some more, to see if Varesh will counteract the previous statement.

Spire barely has the presence of mind to duck his head, and he only just makes it. It's more of a collapse than a duck, really, and it gives his ear a clean slice from one end to the other. In a fuzzy thought, he hopes the momentum will dig the axe into the wood, because his energy is nearly spent.

Compest snarls lightly as his sword suddenly slashes his sword upward, each and every attack blocked by the weasel's blade swinging through the air. A footpaw is placed behind him so the weasel does not loose balance as he yells loudly, "YOU HAVE UNTIL THE COUNT OF TEN TO OPEN THESE DOORS MERDEZ OR I WILL KILL YOUR FOX!" As soon as there is an opening from the fox's slashing, the weasel, once more, attacks the fox's leg with his sword. Of course he's bluffing, but... Merdez doesn't know that for sure.

"I already /got/ all the guards…Geesh, what's /your/ problem, Merd??" Trace asks, scowling back at him. At Compest's yells, the ratmaid leans in close to the door, screaming back, "SHUT UP!!! Kill him…we don't really /care/…Just stop being so darn LOUD!!!!!!!" The fact that Trace is screaming probably isn't helping her point much..

The sword somehow is swung in tight quarters and luckily for Varesh he doesn't lose limbs as he jumps up again, the sword missing. The fox bites and claws like some crazed rabid beast at the weasel, mainly at sword arm shoulder and throat trying to tear him to shreds.

Bane's axe head misses his mark and embeds itself in the wood. The wildcat doesn't seem surprised and looks over his shoulder at Varesh and Compest. He works his blade free and turns to face the other direction. With a smirk he raises his halberd and rushes at both beasts, aiming to pierce their torsos.

"Varesh!" Merdez shouts, "I trust you can conquer that puny ferret. And if not... your sacrifice for the Family is most noble. You will doubtless be rewarded in the world beyond." he chuckles again, speaking now in a tone that will not carry, "Two otters with a single blow." he says, "Trace, I am going home to write General Compest a note. I trust you can keep this," he taps the door to the Hall, "Under your paw."

Spire plants his other shoulder against the doors, making it so that he has his back leaned up against them. He pants heavily again. "If you're looking for explanations," he murmurs to the door crack, "I...estimate you have about ten minutes for mine..." He really is feeling light headed.

Compest suddenly swings his sword towards... himself! Holding it tighting against him, he falls to the ground, and rolls under the fox as the fox leaps up. He leaps upward when he is now behind the fox, putting the fox between him and Bane... and as Bane is attacking Varesh, so is Compest, stabbing his sword towards Varesh's back as Bane charges the fox's front.

Kathryn clears her throat. "I'll be off, too, then. Goodnight, Lord Merdez. If you don't mind, I do have a couple of questions I'd like to know the answers to tomorrow or sometime later. If you can fit me in sometime," she smiles as she starts to leave.

The fox lands and ducks down, grabbing his dagger. He turns and throws it towards Compest’s chest which will most likely miss as the weasel is super fast and un-hittable, as he rises up and then uh-oh Bane’s halberd hits him in the chest, spearing it. Blood flies out all around. "For Narsalis!!"

Merdez nods to Kathryn and calls after her, "It would be my pleasure, your ladyship." he sighs again, manic light leaving his eyes, and leaving fatigue. "Good eve, my friend." he says to trace, "I'll see you tomorrow. I'm sure it will be a gay event."

"Oh, it's completely under control," Trace states in a sing-song voice, as she leans against the wall and yawns. Three other guards stand nearby, just in case she should need assistance. "Oh, I'm sure it /will/ be quite the event, Merd.." she states, cheerfully.

Spire's remarks go unheard, something that is not surprising, considering all the other chaos. He huddles against the door and sighs quietly, eyes half closed.

Bane's brow narrow and he plunges the blade deeper into Varesh's chest. Blood splatters across Bane's face fur and whiskers. The wildcat's ears fold back against his head as he licks the blood at his nose tip. Then with a violet jerk he pulls back the blade and takes a step back, watching the beast bleed.

Well, yes, Varesh is dead. Yup. One big pile of skewered goo.

Compest's sword slashes at the dagger, hitting it aside. He then calmly walks away from Varesh and Bane, to the door, and says through the door as soon as he gets to it, "Trace, is it?" His voice is now deeper... he changed it. Trace... do you remember me? I'm the weasel that saved you from that lizard. You and the squirrel." Actually, it was a squirrel that saved Trace, BUT... that squirrel is about the same size as Compest, and if Trace wasn't watching good enough...

Spire is right by those doors, quietly bleeding himself away. He has little energy for idle conversation now. In fact, his eyes are fixed rather vaguely on some point between floor and ceiling across the hall.

Bane sets down his halberd, point up and turns his head to look over at Compest. He shows no motion to attack, but ready to defend.

Trace yawns, leaning against the door still. "Oh, do shut uuuuuuuup.." her voice states, in a singsong tone into the Hall. She's staying, because she doesn't trust the guards…but.."And where is that bloody Spiroc...?" she mutters under her breath. “Leaving when we need him most...”

Compest looks towards Bane, also showing no movement to attack. In fact, he sheathes his sword, and removes his cape. He begins tearing strips of the cape off, then begins to bandage the wound of Spire. "So easy for you to forget, Trace, that I saved you from that lizard who would spend hours on end torturing you and the squirrel... Taylor, I believe his name is. You've grown quite fond of him. I wonder what he would say if in this same situation." He then smirks somewhat. "The lizard... was a low beast, wasn't he?"

Spire smiles. He seems to find something amusing, at the least. And one last good trick. He makes a shushing gesture at Compest, then replies, voice rather weak. "...I would be right here, Captain Trace..."

Bane looks down at Varesh then kneels, searching his clothing over for an area clean of blood and tears at it. He stands and wipes his blade clean of blood, keeping an eye and ear on Compest and Spire the entire time.

Trace is ignoring Compest. Frankly, she doesn't care if he /was/ the one who rescued her. Trace is just that way... "General, this is getting you /nowhere/," she states, with a soft chuckle, before nearly bolting to her feet. "Spiroc??!! You're inside?? What in the bloody blazes are you doing in there!?" Really, none of this matters because she doesn't have the key...

Compest blinks, and looks towards Spire. He then makes an effort to very gently pick up the rat. "If you don't want him dead, Captain," says the weasel slowly, "I suggest opening the doors."

Spire's teeth grit as he is bandaged, but he continues to play the last card he has in this game. "I was protecting the Regent, sir..." he mumbles into the crack. "...I'm not sure what hit me...I don't think I'm going to make it though. Do you have any water? I think the other guards are already dead..."

Trace curses, loudly and the sound of a foot slamming into the door is heard. "Bloody…! General, if you so much as lay a finger on my best guard, I'll be sure to go out and kill every member of every bloody garrison you own. Spiroc, I'd get you water if I could, but I don't have the keys. "

Bane's eyes narrow then he snorts and walks towards the two beasts at the door. "Seems we will need to open the doors ourselves," he states in a low smooth tone. He slides the halberd into his paws, assuming a side chopping position.

Spire is picked up, which causes an audible groan of pain and results in him trying to curl into himself again. No words from him.

Compest looks towards Bane, and nods. He once more tries to pick the rat up, and now tries to move him along with himself to the side. "I'm not going to kill him, Captain," says the weasel. "That was never my intention. I was trying to help you capture Kayoss once more, but I suppose you did not accept the assistance. Now, we're going to try to force the door open. I suggest you and your guards stepping aside, so we can get your guard the help he needs."

Trace makes her voice lower than normal, perhaps showing the evil that is just /why/ she is friends with Merdez. Or it may show the fact that she has little trust for anyone, and the life of one good soldier does not outweigh the prisoner that Compest will make. "I suggest you sit tight and wait for the punishment Merdez will give you," she states, slowly. "Spiroc, my apologies, but you must understand that we cannot let this prisoner go. /Especially/ after the ratmaid just escaped."

Spire smiles and closes his eyes. "...Understood...sir..."

Bane's body twist as he pivots on his feet, sliding his paws down towards the end of the axe handle. His eyes grow wide and a feral growl emanates from deep in his chest. The blade head embeds into the doors and level with the lock. The wildcat wiggles the blade loose and repeats this motion over and over.

Compest snarls lightly. "I will stay behind, then, Captain," says the weasel. "I will freely go into your custody, although I can prove that it was not me who endangered the fox, or who attacked him. I will willingly stay in your custody without a fight. There is no need to let a beast go if it can be prevented. There's a large number of guards out there Captain. There is not much I can do." He whispers into the ear of the rat, "stay calm... I can help you."

"I have /not/ the key with me!!!" Trace states, her words picking up momentum at the end, and then just allowing her to state, "Yeesh. I find it odd that you value the life of an enemy over pure and simple logic."