Mentiri 'glanced' over at Lavenda, noticing she had things to do in that direction so he turned to the Aes Sedai and took note of her writing things down in a notebook. Hopefully the circles we took in the forest will keep anyone from knowing the true path that was taken in here. He smiled, feeling a tender wind touch his open skin. Mentiri stood, hearing Lavenda say something; but he wasn't focusing on it, he was focusing on...
"Aes Sedai, Lavenda, something's coming this way!" He spoke as he slashed out his sword.
xxxx
Lavenda stared at Mentiri's face, which had grown tense. What in the light?... Suddenly, he whipped out his sword, yelling that something was coming. Light! she thought quickly, unstrapping her spears with one smooth movement. Within seconds they were twirling in her hands, her face a mask of stone. A low, guttural call echoed through the forest, answered by another, and another. Her chest grew tight with anticipation as she turned on the spot, watching for movement. Instinctively, she moved towards the other two.
Trollocs? her mind supplied as she waited. Here?! She shook her head slightly. No time for that. Focus on the fight at hand... A low grunt sounded in a bush to her left, and she flowed to meet the enemy.
xxxx
Mentiri followed Lavenda's beautiful scent; it left a trail that any man could follow. They both crouched in the bushes, hearing their advancing enemy grow ever so closer. Mentiri focused his senses in the direction at hand, the direction the enemy was coming from.
One, two, three, four....five.....five pairs of feet are pacing this way, two larger ones in that five. I'll probably have to handle those two. Mentiri gripped 'Song' tightly and begged the winds to stop just a little so that he could hear better. He gazed over at Lavenda, smiling at the thought of Delendriha saying:
"Mentiri Da'gere Swayton, you must keep this girl out of harms way. For if you don't I fear the worst."
Mentiri smiled at what Lavenda would have told him if had tried to stop her from fighting. Might miss a few teeth, I would.
xxxx
I can't believe I didn't sense them... or at least hear them! Lavenda berated herself. A reason came unbidden to her mind; it seemed the abilities gained as a Warder were dulled- even lost- when the bond was severed. She could hear the branches crackling under careless feet and hooves now. Five, in this direction. Maybe more somewhere else. A quick glance from the corner of her eyes found Mentiri smiling- What's there to smile about? Yet his smile was infectious, and she soon found a like look on her face.
Suddenly, a black-feathered arrow hammered into the trunk beside her, a bare span from her head. She sucked in air sharply, and silently leapt forwards. Her weapons spun in her hands, slicing the foremost creature to ribbons, but she was careful to stay behind it in case the archer could see her. It would do no-one any good for her to die here, now.
Sound behind her alerted her of Mentiri's own attack, but she couldn't look, a Trolloc leaping over it's fellow's body to slash wildly at her. She nimbly dodged the attacks, only nicked once by the tip. "Bloody leaves," she growled under her breath at the forest. Another wickedly barbed arrow whistled over her shoulder, so close she could feel the wind. She peered ahead as her foe fell. I have to find that archer, she thought, crouching behind a log for shelter.
xxxx
Mentiri sliced Song in the air quickly, splitting an arrow in half. In the same stroke of his blade he blocked an oncoming Trolloc attack. The Trollic had an Eagle's face and bull horns decorating it's persona. Mentiri felt the drool from it's smiling mouth spurt out as it roared, tainting the ground and grass.
Where is Lavenda!? Mentiri grit his teeth as he pushed the huge trolloc back with all of his might. Wait, stop! Don't panic! Remember Delendriha! Focus! Mentiri pulled Song up before him, his muscles coiling the weapon to the point that it felt it might crack.
I am the winds. Mentiri saw the trees before him, the soil.
I am the winds. Mentiri saw the winds circle and begin to form mists.
I am the winds. The mists began to move.
I am the winds. The mists grew solid, and the trollocs were blinded to Mentiri no more. He felt Lavenda somewhere deep in the battle, her ferocious beauty radiating in her every strike. He swung Song and screamed in triumph, knowing this next blow would slay the Eagled-headed Trolloc.
xxxx
Blood and ashes, how many are there? she thought frantically, cutting at a hoofed pair of legs that had appeared under the log. An all too human voice screamed in pain as her blade slipped effortlessly through muscle and tissue, the monster collapsing to the ground as its legs were rendered useless. And why? Without her wanting to, her thoughts slipped back to the conversations she had had with Mentiri, seeming years ago in a tavern long forgotten. Tav'eren.
A slight yelp escaped her lips as steel whistled through the air behind her, the haft of her spear barely catching a black blade. Blood and... She dropped to the ground, rolling beneath the log as the Halfman's tainted steel sliced through the air again, cutting into the wood. Almost before the weapon rose again, she was on her feet, facing the Eyeless. A scream of triumph from a true human throat moved her head as she peered to the side. Suddenly, the unseen archer was in the side of her vision, aiming a wickedly-curved bow at what had been the back of her head.
Flipping backwards, she kept her spears to either side, guarding against the unknown. She came up, rolling, and twirled to face the enemy.
An arrow jutted from the eyesocket of the Halfman.
She gaped. What were the chances? Darting in, she sliced at his chest, taking no chances for him to strike back before beginning to die.
xxxx
"Aes Sedai!" Mentiri called out, actually fearing if the Aes Sedai was still living or not. He felt his enemies and he called on his powers of sense to aid him in his battles, freeing his mind to the serenities of the calm.
I am the winds.
'Song' ate it's way through four enemies at once, it's fierce battle prowess becoming even more apparent to all of the trollocs as it became deeper in the fight. Mentiri smiled; smiles were one of the only things that Shadowspawn and The Dark One had not taken away from him. He looked over at Lavenda...
They won't take her away form me either! Mentiri ran towards her scent, swinging along as he went.
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Lavenda was already searching for the archer as the Fade fell from her blade, wounds crossing its chest as it thrashed, unwilling to give up life. A flash of movement caught he eye and she spun in time to see a piece of ragged black cloth disappear behind a bush. Got you, she muttered to herself, sprinting silently towards the Trolloc. I hope it didn't see me... but it must have! She slowed, approaching the spot she had last seen it. Drawing an arrow silently from the quiver at her waist, she nocked it, drawing the string to her ear.
Light help me, she quickly prayed, and turned to look beyond the tree trunk, pointing her bow. Lavenda drew back just as another arrow whistled by, thudding dully into a tree just beyond her. So it's waiting for me... She dropped to the ground without a noise, crawling on her belly until she was almost in range of the other archer. In one fluent motion, she dipped forwards, aiming upwards at the creature's throat. Got it, she thought with a smug grin as the Trolloc crashed to the ground, her missile protruding from its throat.
xxxx
Jacquelynn stood up slowly as Lavenda and Mentiri unsheathed their weapons. She remained quiet herself, embracing saidar without rush. Although the Violet Sitter was not the kind of Aes Sedai to get into battles regularly, her limited experience and the testing she had undergone to receive the shawl had more than taught her the lesson of keeping a cool head.
The sound of footsteps became evident to her untrained ears a few seconds after they had reached the two Warders, and even though the Ghealdian woman could not tell how many came, she could at least gauge the direction, which was something she supposed.
Lavenda and Mentiri had ghosted off into the woods it seemed, for when Jacqui looked back to where they had been she saw nothing but air and forest. The noise of combat reached her, muffled by the dense foliage. Aware that she would most likely get herself killed if she ventured from the clearing and into darker places where she would neither see nor hear an approaching enemy, the Aes Sedai mounted her gelding to give herself a height advantage and backed him towards the corner of the clearing furthest from where the little battle seemed to be taking place.
A handful of minutes passed by, the tension in the air mounting with every second until it seemed that lightning might strike from the sky at any moment, regardless of whether she wove it so or not. At length, a beast-snouted head appeared in the clearing. It started at seeing her, and Jacquelynn thanked the light that she had been given such a sensible horse. The trolloc raised it's weapon, but it was a good score of paces from her and it's wielded a heavy axe. No good to it at this range. she thought with considerable satisfaction.
Not being gifted in saidar by any means, Jacquelynn wove a simple mesh of air. It was a weave any Novice would know, only intensified by several fold. As though picked up by a strong gust, the trolloc was flung sideways into a tree trunk, his head connecting with a dull thud. He fell in a crumpled heap, limbs splayed in all sorts of unnatural directions.
The Violet Sister's eyes flickered to shadows moving in the forest but she did nothing, not knowing if they were friend or foe. I hope this ends soon...