"C'mon Aiph, you're slowing down!"  Archibald called back as his boots pelted along the smoothed flagstones of the castle, a dirty brown sack flapping on his back with heavy thuds. Though his breath was ragged, he still managed to keep up his cheery attitude. "You're not the one carrying thirteen wheels of cheese!" shouted a nasal voice from behind him. Looking back, he saw the thin, wiry frame of the thief dodge beneath the grasping hand of a knight who passed by in a flash. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his right hand man Darius shoulder charge past a myrmidon wordlessly, his eyes glaring into Archibald's back. "Archibald, this still seems to be a bad choice," he said in a gruff as he adjusted the sack over his shoulder, his footfalls much heavier than his companions', "stealing from Grado Keep is one thing, but while it's under attack? This is risky even by your standards!"
"Au contraire, dourpuss," Archibald said as he slipped between two fighters, slapping one of the over the head with his sack of potatoes, "this is the perfect time to strike! Besides, we'd only leave the spoils to the Jehannans if we didn't take it. It's win win!" With his bow slung over his body and quiver of dirty white fletched arrows slapping against his back, he seemed an ungainly figure but his natural agility and speed made sure he didn't even stumble as he ran pell mell through the castle corridors. "HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!" he heard from behind him before hearing a brief "Outta my way!" followed by a thud. He grinned. That was definitely Darius alright.

As one of the two knights turned to face the source of the commotion, Archibald leapt up and planted a boot onto a contour in his chestplate, pushing upwards. As if in slow motion, the knight watched the nimble archer climb up his girth as surely as a monkey would climb a tree. "Yo!" Archibald chimed as he did a mock salute, before planting a boot into the knight's face and vaulting off. Landing with a roll, he didn't even break his stride as the myrmidon and priest pressed themselves against the wall to avoid the projectile human. "Ret! We got the stuff!" he shouted even as Aiph the thief springboarded off of the second knight, with Darius simply charging through between the two off-balance knights, forcing them to their knees to retain balance. The two were good friends and former comrades in arms, but Retario had given up the outlaw life long ago. Shame really, his 'wildness' would have made a great intimidation tool and deterrant...not that the other half of his own face didn't but at least it was less terrifying and wouldn't give him a bad reputation.

Seeing the hirsute giant grow in his vision, he flashed a happy smile before he tore his sight away to something beyond him. "Whoa!" he exclaimed as he stumbled to a halt, almost flipping head over heels as he fought his accumulated inertia. Screeching to a halt in front of Retario and grabbing Aiph's hood as he tried to stop as well, he found himself catapulted forward as Darius slammed into him, causing him to roll to the feet of a rearing pegasus which he swiftly rolled away from as it stomped back down. "Why'd you stop!?" Aiph and Darius shouted in unison as Grado forces pushed in, causing them to drop their sacks of food and ready their weapons, sending dried meats, potatoes and a wheel of cheese to scatter. "...lads I think the fights already started," Archibald said as he climbed to his feet, backing up while rubbing his head. Pointing to the two fighters beyond the startled myrmidon and pegasus, he cracked his neck and drew his bow. "Recognise them?" he asked as he nocked an arrow into his bow, retreating until he reached Retario. "Aren't those...Leonard and Carlson from the Spike Guild?" Aiph asked as he ducked under an archer's hand. Darius scoffed as he slapped away the grasping digits of a myrmidon. "More like the Spike Gang from how they act," he said as he drew his axe from its sling. But rather than looking towards the two notorious guildsmen, they looked towards the Grado forces which were now closing in on them. 

[center]"So...Win win you said, boss?" 

"I dunno, maybe we can...what's the word?" Archibald said as he backed into Darius.

"Parley?" Aiph answered as he joined them.

"Yeah, thats the word."

[img]http://i.imgur.com/6BhdqBP.png[/img] [/center]