Strider slipped quietly through the woods, keeping her attention focused on the path leading to where the four horses were tethered. She could see their hindquarters visible through a gap in the foliage ahead and was ready to begin looking for Fell to signal when she felt it. It was the same odd sensation she had experienced earlier as she rode through the Redmont woods. The hair on the back of her neck rose, and a shudder snaked down her spine. She spun quickly on her heel to find the trees behind her empty, the branches still in her wake. She waited another moment for good measure, listening carefully for out of place sounds. There was a sudden rustle from behind her followed by the snapping of a twig underfoot, and then a set of arms wrapped around her from behind. A hand clamped over her mouth, cutting off her startled shout.
A stab of panic shot through her as she twisted in her attacker's grip, her arms fighting to get to her knives. He held her tightly, crushing her against him and pinning her arms against her own body. Strider struggled haplessly at first, then slammed her heel down onto the arch of her attacker's foot and rammed an elbow back into his ribs. There was a startled grunt and his grip loosened enough for Strider to shove him away and pull her knives. She spun to face him, her heartbeat pounding wildly in her ears.
Her attacker wore the distinctive white and red tunic of the Cult and a none too pleased expression to match. His sword rasped free of his scabbard as he glared at Strider, and he grimaced as he settled the bulk of weight onto the foot she'd stomped on.
"Don't try and run," he said to her.
Strider took another step back, edging closer to the trees so she might do just that. He took an answering step forward, the point of his sword coming up in a threatening gesture. Strider chanced a glance towards where Fell should be, but the trees were blocking him from view. With a sinking feeling she realized it meant neither Halt nor Fell could see her either. Strider knew she could shout to draw their attention, but the soldiers nearby would hear it as well, and they were far closer to her than Halt or Fell was. She tightened her grip on her blades instead, her left-hand stinging in protest beneath the bandages. Her best plan of attack would be to take out the guard in front of her as quietly as possible to prevent him from shouting for help, then cut and run to get back to Halt and Fell.
"Put the knives down, there are more of us than you," her attacker with a nod to someone over her shoulder. Strider looked behind her and saw two more men pushing forward from the trees, swords drawn and held at the ready. They fanned out around her, forming a loose circle to block off her escape.
"I like my odds," Strider said dryly, hoping the words sounded more confident than she felt. The man frowned and hefted his sword as if considering, then he seemed to give up and struck forward instead. Strider sidestepped quickly, pivoting neatly to let the blade soar harmlessly past her on one side. The swordsman recovered and swung again, putting less of his weight behind the swing. When Strider sidestepped once more the swordsman reversed the direction of the blade and sent it arcing back towards her. Strider slapped the blade away as lightly as possible, grimacing as the sound of metal on metal rang out. She repeated the maneuver several more times, dodging nimbly out of the swordsman's way and knocking aside any strokes she couldn't evade as quietly as possible. The sound of their blades striking felt deafening to Strider's ears despite her attempts to minimize the sound. She could only hope the sound didn't carry quite as far as the clearing where the rest of the Cult had been leisurely resting.
The swordsman caught on quicker than Strider would have liked and began to press harder, feinting swipes here and there to make Strider sidestep one way only to have to quickly dodge in the opposite direction when he reversed the direction of the swipe. Strider knew she couldn't evade the blade forever and had only a short window in which to turn the fight in her favor. She abruptly gave up on trying to be quiet and struck forward suddenly, launching into a flurry of swings against the first swordman. The swordsman's face registered a startled look of surprise as he went from pressing the attack to scrambling to defend himself. He recovered after a moment and brought his blade down in a heavy side slash Strider had to catch with her blades. There was a ringing clang as their blades rang together before rasping apart. The sound was sure to carry, and Strider knew it would be only a matter of moments before more men emerged from the trees. She only hoped Halt and Fell would be among them.
Strider continued to fight offensively, her left hand aching each time it collided with her attacker's sword. He managed to block her blows completely, but she was pushing her opponent backwards, moving him further from his comrades. At the sound of a boot scuffing the earth behind her Strider slapped her attacker's sword away and turned quickly, launching a kick at the man who was closing in behind her. It connected solidly with his knee, and he went down with a shout of pain. Strider had spun back to her first opponent before the man had even hit the ground, her blades flying up just in time to block an overhand strike he'd aimed at her head. She crossed her blades above her and caught the blade with a grunt of pain. She knocked the blade up with her own, then smashed it away from her with swipe from her right blade.
Behind her the swordsman she had kicked lay moaning in pain from the forest floor, but she'd lost track of the third swordsman. She parried another blow from her first attacker, then flicked a quick glance over her shoulder in time to see the third swordsman step forward and sweep her ankle with his foot, pulling her leg out from beneath her. Strider fought for her balance at first then gave up and pitched herself into the fall instead, pulling her knives in close to her chest and grunting as she hit the ground and rolled. She sprang to her feet again, the blade of a sword biting deep into the earth where she'd been only a moment before. The second swordsman was swinging for Strider's head the second she was back on her feet, and she barely managed to get her knives up in time to block the blade. Strider caught the blow with her right blade, absorbing the strength behind the swing with her good hand before batting the point of the sword down and away with her injured left hand. She stepped forward and kicked out hard to catch the guard in his midsection and send him doubling over to join his comrade in the dirt.
Strider turned to the final guard as he started towards her, then stumbled back a step as a black shafted arrow slammed into his chest. The man gave a startled choke as his knees buckled and he collapsed face first into the dirt, his sword clattering to the ground beside him.
"About time," Strider muttered. She looked through the trees, trying to spot Halt in the direction where the arrow had come from. There was the sound of voices and men crashing through the woods, and then a handful of men in white and red tunics emerged from the trees. They'd come running the moment they heard the fight begin, but their steps slowed as their eyes fell on the cloaked figure at the center of the clearing. The hood of Strider's cloak was up, casting a shadow which obscured her face. She held her knives loosely at her sides, and at her feet two of their comrades lay moaning from their injuries. The third, transfixed by a black shafted arrow, lay ominously still.
Strider noticed the barest moment of hesitation from the men as they looked from her to their comrades and back again. They drew their weapons but kept their distance, unsure of how to go about capturing or killing the figure before them. As it turned out, Halt didn't give them much time to decide. The moment the first of the reinforcements stepped beyond the relative safety of the trees into his line of sight, the Ranger sent a hail of arrows whistling down on them.
They hit in quick succession, slamming into the Cult's forces and sending men crumpling to the ground in shouts of pain. Strider didn't stick around to give them time to regroup. She bolted into the trees opposite of where Halt was firing from, hoping to lose any pursuers before doubling back towards the Ranger.
"Strider!"
She'd only made it a dozen paces before she heard her name hurled from the trees like a knife through the air. Strider skidded to a stop, head whipping towards the sound. Fell stepped from the trees, ripping his cowl back onto his shoulders and holding his knives up in a gesture of peace. His face was lightly flushed, the edge of his knives marred with a line of blood. "Just me," he said, "where's Halt?"
"Back a ways," Strider said. "It was a trap, they were waiting."
Fell had realized as much not long after Halt had left his position to come to Strider's rescue. He had turned one last time to check the Ranger was ready only to find he was gone, his position abandoned. Fell had known immediately the only way Halt would abandon his post was if Strider were in trouble. Fell trusted the Ranger to look out for her and had moved in on the four men who were playing dice and napping. When the first ringing clash of steel on steel had rung out from the forest the guards had risen to help their comrades, drawing their swords and hurrying into the trees where Fell was waiting for them. They hadn't been expecting him at all, and he had made short work of them before cutting through the trees towards where he thought Strider would be.
"How many?" Fell asked now, eyes scanning the brush in the direction Strider had just come from.
"Half a dozen," Strider said. "Maybe more. Halt is stalling them."
There were renewed shouts from behind them and the sound of men crashing through the trees in pursuit of Strider, though with far less gusto than they'd shown earlier. Fell pulled his cowl back over his head and gestured towards the horses. They were tethered several yards away, close enough for them to hear the mounts stamping their hooves uneasily at the commotion they sensed taking place.
"Forget about cutting them loose," Fell said. "We're going to need them to get out of here. I'll help Halt hold them off while you get the horses."
Strider didn't bother arguing with Fell, only gave him a quick nod before turning and heading up the path to the horses. There was a familiar dull ache rising in her chest, and her breath rasped ever so slightly with each breath. She rounded a small bend and slowed her pace to a walk as she approached the horses. They'd been tethered in pairs to a series of low hanging branches, their saddles left on with the girths loosened. Strider chose the most nervous of the horses, a mare who snorted and tossed her head repeatedly as the stranger approached. She drew her knife and slit the girth straps before pushing the saddle off the back of the horse and letting it fall to the dirt with a loud thump. The mare sidestepped and whinnied in surprise, her eyes rolling wildly. Before she could buck or bite, Strider cut the reins and set her loose. The mare needed no urging before turning her head and bolting off. She approached the remaining three horses more cautiously, speaking softly in a soothing voice as she moved between them, tightening their girths and untying their reins.
From around the bend she heard a series of startled shouts followed by the sound of metal ringing against metal. She swung into the saddle of the first horse and put her heels to its sides before she was fully settled, keeping a tight hold on the reins of the other two horses. Her mount was hesitant to approach the sound of battle, and pulled back, snuffling and shaking his head uncertainly. Strider gave him another firm touch of her heels and he set off in a reluctant canter back the way she'd come.
Strider burst from the trees on the far side of the bend and nearly trampled a man in a red and white tunic. Her horse's shoulder struck him hard in the side and sent him face first into the dirt. Ahead there were no more than a handful of his comrades left, three of which clutched wounds from Fell's knives or more of Halt's black shafted arrows. Strider wasted no time and rode straight for Fell, pulling the other horses along. He finished off the man he'd been fighting with a quick feint followed by a thrust from one of his blades before sheathing them and running for the nearest horse. He leapt into the saddle and grabbed the reins, his horse shifting and sidestepping all the while.
"Let's get Halt and get out of here," Fell said. The Shadow had seen where the black shafted arrows had been coming from, and while he had yet to spot the Ranger himself, he had an idea of where to pick him up. Fell led the way at a canter, careful to give a wide berth to any of the Cult who were left standing. They were thundering away from the place the Cult had been camped when a familiar thrum filled the air, and a black shafted arrow buried itself in the neck of Fell's horse.
Please read and review! This chapter took a lot longer than I originally thought. Next chapter will be from Halt's perspective! Please read and review and let me know what you think! :)