11 Pandemonium

Xavier Nightrider

Crouching low to the ground, I raised my hand and began signalling for Solskin to move to the other side of the carriage. With years of experience, I began quietly stepping forward, low and hugging the side of the carriage.

My breathing became controlled and rhythmic, settling back into years of habit. Grasping the hilts of my swords, long worn to fit my hand perfectly, I pulled them from their sleathes with the same practiced motion from long ago.

This felt… comforting. For the first time in a long while, things felt normal. The guilt that had been eating away at me subsided under the adrenaline and focus of battle. I knew exactly what had to be done, what my next action was.

But that emotion didn't last long as I pushed away all other thoughts from my mind. I began absorbing every detail, planning each small movement I make.

The sun was beginning to hang low in the sky. Given the dense tree cover, my sword reflection giving away my position wasn't an issue. Judging by the voices, they were completely focused on Mordred right now. I could see flashes of him through the foliage being held roughly, the whites of his eyes were visible even from here. They would not likely notice my approach.

How many were there? That it was the most important detail. Creeping ever so slowly forward, I moved towards the front, approaching Mordred's personal caravan. Seeing a lack of cover and an arrow in the ground, I quietly sheathed my swords, and unslung my bow. There was no way I could make it to their position without being turned into a porcupine.

"Xavier," Alistair, somehow behind me, whispered, grabbing my attention.

I looked over and whispered, "How many?" I couldn't see them all from my position, but maybe he already got a look.

"Ten in total. Armed with swords and crossbows mostly. All have leather or plate armor."

I nodded in understanding. Nocking an arrow, I readied myself for a fight. Like a thousand times before, I exhaled and closed my eyes. I pulled the arrow back, feeling my shoulders push together. I stepped out and scanned the scene before me.

Mordred and what looked like one of the drivers were surrounded by bandits, the driver, looking dazed, had been pushed by one of them so that their head was lying flat on a tree stump slumped over while Mordred was being held in place with his arms pinned behind his back. A giant of a man towered over them, brandishing a greataxe over the driver's head. The bandits had no clue I was there. The great axe raised to the sky, glimmering murderously in the light. Slowly coming down, I knew what I had to do. I let go.

The arrow sailed across the road, flying gracefully through the air. I was already nocking my bow again, trying to get another arrow out to shoot the one holding Mordred. I knew I hit. Despite all the doubt in my life, at least I knew I could fight.

Thwap. The arrow lodged itself deep into the man's wrist. The great axe dropped to the ground with a loud clang and cry.

"Now, Solskin!" I let the second arrow go, aiming for another bandit's chest. I was too late. Seeing the arrow tear its way through his friend's arm, the bandit had turned in my direction. He ducked, the arrow glancing off his shoulder pad.

"How about you pick on someone who can fight back!" Solskin spirited from his hidden position, covering the distance in long bounding strides. His sword gripped in two hands, he brought it crashing down, tearing through the leather armor like paper, quickly dispatching the nearest bandit.

Our surprise didn't last long. Soon enough, arrows began hammering my position, forcing me to take cover behind the carriage. I quickly turned to the other side, bow drawn, and began moving forward as quickly as I could, keeping the carriage between me and the archers.

It wasn't good. In the time it took me to reposition behind Solskin, he was already surrounded by the bandits. His armor had taken the brunt of the beating, I could see the pain starting to build as his swings were quickly turning ragged with each passing moment.

I let my arrow fly, trying to hit someone in the swirling combat. Dropping my bow, I pulled out my swords and charged in, trying to share the burden of the frontlines with Solskin.

Mordred Leporum

When the axe crashed to the ground, I left out a sigh of relief before scrambling back and away from the bandits.

I broke out into a run, darting behind one of the carriages. Fumbling through my robes, I pulled out a dagger. It was more ceremonial than practical, but it would have to do. Licking my dry lips and trying to calm my pounding heart, I turned around to look around the corner.

It was chaos. People moving about erratically, dodging blows and lunging in for attacks, I could barely keep up with where Solskin and Xavier were. Bandit incoming, crap! I quickly pushed with one hand in an outward motion and the grass in front of me was covered in a slightly viscous flammable liquid, some of it catching on the bandit, who had raised their off-hand to avoid getting it in their eyes. Another motion and when they looked back the area where the liquid had hit the grass was on fire. He hastily jumped back and looked at me, now hesitant.

Concentrating on my palm, I felt heat grow, catching into the starting embers of a firebolt.

"Go! I'm sure you'd rather not die a painful death by fire!" I shouted. Then, the rest of the drivers came out of the wagons, spurred on by my words. Wielding shivs and whatever makeshift weapons they had found, they hesitantly charged to attack the lone bandit. He raised his sword valiantly to defend himself, but my drivers were too many for him.

Hanging back, I continued to survey the battlefield and dismissed the fire conjuration. Sweat dripped down my brow from its heat, stinging my eyes.

WIth the arrival of the drivers, the battle turned even more chaotic. Their wild and unskilled swinging turned the somewhat focused battle into a brawl sprawled across the front of the carriage.

"FALL BACK AND REGROUP!" Xavier's level voice cut across the battlefield.

I turned in his direction. In the messy battle, he had been separated from Solskin. Removing his sword from the corpse of a bandit, he was observing the battlefield with a nonplussed glaze. I rushed to his side, "What do you want me to do?"

"Stay back. Help whoever needs it with magic."

I panicked slightly. I was really hoping that he would say that he would deal with everything. I mean, that is why I was paying him. Cursing myself for not getting more guards, I looked at the battlefield.

It was not good. Even I could tell we were teetering on the edge of disaster. Sucks back in my curses, I steeled myself. Following his orders, the drivers drew back towards him. Soon the outcome of the battle turned extremely clear. The drivers stood by Xavier's side, forming a seemingly united front, fending of the bandits attack with each other's support. With a flick of his blade, he charged back in, pushing his way to the front.

"Fight in pairs, we outnumber them now! I got Lucian!"

He broke out into a sprint, weaving through the battle with unbelievable grace. It was surprisingly beautiful.

"Mordred, over here!"

I whipped my head around. Saw one of my drivers was bleeding profusely from his arm, being driven back by a bandit. His partner was lying on the ground. Whether he was dead or unconscious, I had no clue. Silently, I kicked myself for being distracted in a battle and summoned a bolt of flames to drive them away.

Despite the fight being more organized and to our advantage as we slowly overpowered them with numbers, I found myself exhausted from my spellcasting. The two on ones were barely manageable as the bandits were clearly the better fighters. They easily fended off the drivers' clumsy attacks, even struck back, leaving everyone covered in a myriad of cuts and gashes, dying everyone with a dark red.

It wasn't looking great for us at all.

Solskin Brandrson

Everything hurt.

My shoulder was badly bruised where an arrow had glanced it. Bile threatened to spill out of mouth from a blow to my stomach. Blood ran silently down my leg. I didn't know how much longer I could last, but I swung my sword with everything I had. Swordlight flashed across my face as I weaved between parries and strikes. It was a deadly dance, life or death balancing on the sword's edge.

My mind went blank, relying on my instincts honed from years of fighting dangerous beasts to fight off the endless attacks. I don't know what happened next. I just felt a sharp pain course up my back, then it was just cold. I could feel something run its way down my back. Slowly , Islumped to the ground, the world black.