Soon the group were mounted and ready to go, all save Ruld who was merely standing and ready to go. Urko was still staring daggers at Epona for some strange reason and as a result of this the usually calm and well mannered horse was getting a tad shifty and uncertain, stepping from side to side and not establishing eye contact. Sankt put a stop to this as he gently pressed on the side of Urko's head in a signal for him to stop unsettling Epona. Nusstai was now down from the tree as well and sitting astride his brown mare, his white cloak falling equally on either side of the creature. In one hand he held his bow and was griping the reigns only with his left. Since Nusstai was the most stealthy of the group and the best tracker he was the one who went at the head of the group, riding about fifteen meters ahead of everyone else. In order for them not to startle the patrol they were stalking the group moved at a walk through the dark moonlit woods and remained in total silence. As well as listen with a keen ear Nusstai was also looking around him in case he had accidentally gotten closer than expected. Every silver shrub and deep shadow was probed with searching eyes. A gentle breezed moved through the trees creating an oddly beautiful rustle that seems only possible at night time. The hoot of a near by owl filled the near silent night which was shortly accompanied by a voice clearly used to authority. It was far off, slightly distorted by moving through the trees and shrubs but still the words could be made out, it seemed to say.
"All right boys. We'll rest here tonight, push to the plains tomorrow and find out what these scum are up to."
Just who the said scum were was unclear but Sankt made the educated guess that it was the dwellers of this realm in general. More perplexing why were they scum? What had the people of this world done that was so awful as to provoke these actions? Whatever the answer it would be an important one no doubt about that. Nusstai remained dead still, allowing the rest of the group to catch up with him. Leaning in he whispered to them, as loud as he dared.
"The group is a little way up ahead, setting up camp for the night but they are being smart, no camp fire to alert the locals to their presence. I have no way to be certain how many of them there are but less than ten I would think but more than five. So it is a small patrol, recognisance for a much larger force would be my guess. But that force is still in the world where these doppelgangers come from."
Sankt gave a brief nod and turned to glance at link for a moment before whispering to the group as a whole.
"Allright, Nusstai dismounts and goes ahead into the foliage, he sneaks up on the group and waits for us four to attack. We charge in, kill what we can kill. As soon as we strike Nusstai grabs a prisoner in the distraction and pulls him off to a safe place, that way we attackers do not have to worry about sparing anyone. Sound like a plan?"
Rather than talk unnecessarily the group all nodded their agreement.
Nusstai lightly vaulting off of his horse landed upon the leafy ground without even a sound. Slinging his bow now across his back once more he seemed to bend almost double and scuttle off of the road and into the foliage. Every step was careful and cautious, sneaking in a city you had open spaces to deal with and here that was not so much of an issue but sound was far more likely to give him away. Accidentally rustling a bush to loud, startling an animal or the classic breaking of a twig could all give him away. If he saw anything even vaguely likely to make a noise he brushed it away carefully before continuing forward. Though the order had been given the usual chit chat of the camp had now begun. None of it was important though it merely served to guide Nusstai forward. The talk was largely of the woods they were in and how much the soldiers were looking forward to the war being one and being able to see friends and family again. One in particular babbled on and on about his newborn son and it was this voice in particular that Nusstai moved towards. Partly because it was the easiest to track but also out of a twisted sense of fun. It would be amusing to hear him beg for his life latter and use his family as an excuse for him to be spared. By the time Nusstai was in position, mere inches now from his victim, concealed behind a rock with a bush half grown over it almost ten minuites had passed and it was now that the others would act.
Nusstai's horse had been tied firmly to a tree to prevent it bolting or simply wandering off and Ruld had been left to guard it. Since the massive man was on foot he would be unable to keep up with the galloping attack that was about to ensue. Sankt, Link and Achim now set off at a walk upon their horses along the dusty dirt track, atemptin gto keep the element of surprise by waiting until the last possible moment to break into a full charge. In readiness Sankt and drawn his hand and a half sword and made sure the long strap was now tied to his wrist to prevent any accidents. One the other hand was of course his shield and it was this hand he used as well to grip the reigns of Urko. Link too had drawn sword and shield and was just behind Sankt. Achim meanwhile had only drawn his one scimitar and was at the very rear of the group, after all he had no shield and it would be a great misfortune if he was slain by an arrow as he charged. With weapons drawn and eyes sharp the group slowly rounded a corner and there, about thirty meters before them, lay the enemy camp. At once Sankt broke into a charge, shield placed protectively before him and sword held back and high ready for a massively powerful downward cut. Sankt saw that there were seven soldiers including their leader, six once Nusstai grabbed a man. Almost at once an arrow was loosed at the streaking form of the white cavalryman which thunked heavily into his shield but did not dig in due to the outer layer of steel, a rare feature in current shields, all it did was tear a small hole in the white fabric cover.
Now combat had been joined Nusstai instantly leapt forward, both arms out streatched and wrapped them around his target before dragging him into the foliage and running away from the combat so as that the prisoner could not be rescued. He took him away from the sounds of fighting back to Ruld and the horse where upon he forced the guard face down into the dusty road and essentially sat on him, pinning back the man's arms waiting for the battle to be over and the horsemen to return. Sankt, meanwhile, was now all but on top of the somewhat more elaborately dressed officer. He had the exact same clothing as his subordinates, only the colour of the clothes under the armour was a deep red and he wore the same colour plume in his visored helmet. This man was clutching a spear, possibly the most effective weapon against horsemen but only when used in coherent formations. As it was one lone spearman was not going to be of much use but he tried none the less. The officer thrust the spear upwards attempting to puncture the lower right stomach of Sankt. However, our white clad here merely deftly flicked the head of the spear off of its shaft with a tiny rotation of his sword as he brought it down. Then weapon still lowered he kept riding forward hard. Rather than aim for his enemies neck the blade instead careered into the officers chest like a hammer. The sheer terrible force made the blade career through the low quality plate and dig into the man's chest. Were this not a battle the crunch of bone would be audible as the blade fractured the ribcage like a glass window. Still Sankt was moving forward and now lifted the doomed officer off of his feet, moving with Sankt and thus forced Sankt to shake the man off of his weapon where upon the officer tumbled from the blade and lay face up upon the ground. The first casualty of the engagement lay there, staring up at the sky, his chest laid open like a small explosion had occurred bellow his sternum. The mess below made identifying organs impossible but it also made death quite slow, it took twenty seconds of sheer mind bending agony for this man to die with only shock preventing him from screaming out loud, his body no longer even able to properly convulse. Sankt was of course still riding hard and completely passed by one man who was still struggling to his feet upon his shield side. The third man he encountered was also unprepared and had only just gotten upright and currently trying to get a proper grip upon his great sword. Now on their own great swords were problematic for cavalry, there users were still quite mobile and they were excellent for chopping the legs off of horses. Fortunately however, as has been said this one was not yet ready and Sankt rode past him unimpeded. Just as he galloped by the warrior he swiftly cut down and a long way back with his hand and a half sword, cutting into the length of his opponent's spine laying it open horribly in a mess of blood, bone and spinal cord. Even if this did not kill it would most certainly paralyse. However, to the victims good fortune the kill this time around was near enough instant, dead even before he hit the floor, blood gushing forth from his back.
Link was next into the fray and was lucky enough to encounter opponents who were still staring dumbfounded at Sankt. Riding hard upon Epona he was laid almost flat upon his horse, shield tucked high to protect his face and upper body, his profile as low as possible and sword stretched out almost horizontally in surprisingly cavalier style. Here it plunged right into the neck of the guard Sankt had passed by on his shield side but because the sword was not the width of the neck it did not sever the head. Now Link quickly turned his sword downward and twisted meaning the body fell easily to the ground and Link withdrew his sword with almost no effort or difficulty whatsoever resulting in a clean swift kill rather than the sheer brutality of Sankt's attacks. However, this now meant that his sword was positioned very low, near vertically in fact and may as well have been touching the ground therefore leaving his arm exposed. This was an opportunity an axe man charging towards Link took and was making a clean and powerful sweep at the arm. If contact was made Link was going to loose a limb and as it was Link was unable to stop it. Fortunately for him however, someone else was. This man was Achim who although he was moving forward was doing so at a canter not a gallop and so was some way behind the rest of the group. He had assigned himself the role of support, with his magical ability if anything happened he was going to bail his more intrepid colleagues out and he did this beautifully. Simply levelling a finger at the foe he let off an invisible wave of magic, Link would feel a cold rush of air practically slam past his arm but the Axe man flew backwards around about two meters before his chest promptly exploded. It did not collapse, disintegrate or anything akin to that. It simply exploded in a hail of flesh, bone and blood, each so drenched in the other it was hard to tell what was what. The half corpse continued to fly backwards and eventually landed close to the still charging Sankt.
Sankt, still well ahead of the others astride Urko was reaching the back end of the now fully alerted patrol, a patrol with only two remaining fighters. This duo had wisely bunched together for greater protection from the white clad mad man bearing down upon them but that was not going to stop Sankt. Narrowing his eyes beneath his helmet he had to judge his positioning just right before urging his steed onwards flaring his nostrils like hells ventilation system. The guards had knelt down by now and locked shields but both were equipped with swords. Urko simply jumped over the pair in complete safety and when he landed kicked out his back legs like a mule slamming with huge force into the back of one soldier's head smashing it like a watermelon. Sankt meanwhile turned in his saddle and flung his large hand and a half sword into the unsuspecting back of the last remaining opponent who shot up like a jack in the box giving a sharp whisper of a scream as his eyes shot open wider than they were designed to go before slowly sinking to his knees, but not yet dead. However, a sharp tug from Sankt and the floodgates were open and the stuff of life flowed from him like a colander as he fell face down into the dirt and bleed out.
Battle now having been done Sankt pulled a rag from his saddle bag and wiped his blade clean of blood so it would not stick before replacing the sword in its scabbard and riding over to Link. Achim to rode up to Link and the trio looked at one another, a smile evident on Achim's face but Link was the first one to speak saying.
"Thank you back there. I would have lost an arm were it not for you."
Achim for his part waved a dismissive hand and said casually.
"Oh forget it, save your thanks for when I do something really important. Besides what are comrades in arms supposed to do? Now come on we had best be heading back to Ruld and Nusstai, see what we can learn."
So with no further ado the group met back up with the man mountain and the assassin who was still perched firmly atop their prisoner. Sankt was the first off his horse and as soon as he hit to ground gestured for Nusstai to hold the man up. Urko stood obediently still as Sankt began pacing menacingly towards the hapless prisoner and drew back a mailed fist before driving it had into the jaw of the prisoner. At this point he was asking no questions just hitting. A second blow sailed in at the mans left eye whilst the third was a knee to the groin making the prisoner gasp and do the best possible job of crossing his legs whilst his eyes watered. Sankt decided three blows were enough to get thins started and so asked in a hissing voice made all the more sinister for the metallic echo of the helmet.
"Where is the portal you come through? Tell me where is it?"
The only answer Sankt got was a snort and a spit of mixed water and blood from the prisoner followed by the words.
"You won't get anything out of me jailer!"
This provoked another blow to the jaw from Sankt as well as two upward thrusting thumps to the floating rib, the part of a body a boxer aims for. That was just for refusing to answer the question, for the poorly aimed insult Sankt broke his nose with one balled up fist and used the other to punch out two of the prisoner's teeth, his mouth now oozing blood and the blow to the eye beginning to turn black already. Further more he gestured for Nusstai to make sure the man was rigid before stamping down hard upon the prisoners knee, breaking the leg with the sound of snapping wood, well snapping wood with a sharp scream from the prisoner. Once again Sankt asked sharply.
"Where is the entrance?"
The soldier was not so forceful in his defiance now, instead he simply said nothing, his head hanging down low and breathing heavily. Nusstai was slightly disappointed. He had been hoping for a man begging for him and his family but it seemed his family was of secondary importance to this man, second to victory. He admired that but it also unnerved him slightly. Judging by the prisoners actions and words this enemy was imbued with well channelled hate, a truly dangerous adversary.
Link and Achim for there parts were wondering about the use of the word jailer but Sankt as ever was staying on task. Concerned only with the portals location. Placing one hand behind his opponents head he held it still whilst with the other he formed an armoured fist once more and resumed the pummelling. Three more blows fell now square to the face finishing the transformation into bloody mess. Next he broke the prisoners other leg producing another wail of pain from the man which filled the night sky. The prisoner cracked now but it seemed more out of a will to kill Sankt and his allies than anything else.
"Go on then. It's just down the road. The tallest tree here, we marked it by burning a patch of ground in front of the entrance. Go then, enter the tree and head to your deaths."
The man then seemed to laugh, a laugh obscured by blood and frailty but a spine chilling one none the less. Sankt flicked his wrist in signal to Nusstai and suddenly the prisoners neck was snapped. Link protested at once, saying in a voice that was both shocked and appalled.
"No! You didn't have to do that. He could have been taken to the village, watched perhaps imprisoned but he could have been spared."
Sankt snorted and mounted Urko, he was clearly dismissing Link's idea and said as much.
"If we had taken him to the village we would have been leaving a potentially violent man in a peaceful and defenceless town and if we had taken him back to town ourselves we would have been wasting valuable time. Who knows when the next strike will come? Killing him was the best option. Now we ride to our objective."
At once Sankt turned Urko around and began heading down the road not even waiting for Link's response. Nusstai mounted his horse and came up quickly behind followed by Ruld and Achim. Link just remained in place, staring at the abandoned corpse left for the wildlife to take care of and not even buried. He would have done so himself by he had to fall in with the rest of the group to keep up and to keep an eye on them. Especially Sankt. With Link finally in place they reached the tree quickly and saw the burnt patch of grass in front of the large hollow. Large enough for horse and rider to pass though with ease. This they all did one by one only to be confronted with a bewildering experience. Horse and rider suddenly seemed to fall, fall through a seemingly endless blackness littered with strange, haunting visions. Warped faces of many colours streaked by, a clock could be heard ticking, the wind wisped past their bodies as they continued to plummet at ever faster speeds down down, ever down. Then suddenly it was over, rather than hit the ground hard they seemed to just materialise at the stand. All of them unhurt. No one was concust or even had a light headache. They had all been expecting to arrive in a wood or perhaps inside another tree. Instead they were confronted with stone and wood work. A waterwheel turned noisily behind them driving simply huge wooden cogs. There was a door to the outside world a short flight of steps above them but then a rickety ladder stretched up further, much further. Sankt dismounted gingerly and headed towards this ladder, gesturing fern the others to remain where they were. Even more hesitantly he began to climb, the wood straining under his weight but eventually he reached the top of whatever structure he was on and was able to peek out of a tiny stone slit to see the outside world and he gasped at what lay before him and said quietly.
"Uh oh."