They both sprung into action, hearts racing. Rayla grabbed her blades and Callum dove for Zym who had also been startled awake. They quickly fled out of the circle of light cast by the fire.
Moments later, a massive form entered the camp, surveying the scene.
"Yah it's them a'righ'", he growled over his shoulder, then shouted in a mocking tone: "Come out y'all lov' berds, yer gonna need all o' yer crap!", turning to the trees he shouted, "Y'all forsaken bruisers out there come at me if ye want t' dance!"
Rayla and Callum were pressed up against each other, in the shrubbery closest to the river. Neither of them made a peep.
"Ach. Find em'. Can't 've gone far.", the mountainous man ordered into the shadows behind him, then shouted, again: "Oy, I swear by my ma's grave that we'll be leavin' here with the drag'n either way. But, it's up to ye if yer gonna be leaving! I din'nah appreciate the knockin' ye gave my boys this day but I'm willin' to let bygones be bygones if you hand over the fire breathin' rat!"
Rayla could tell there were three more headhunters skulking in the dark, her eyes quickly adjusting to the low light cast by the waxing moon.
She turned to Callum, who could not see squat outside the fire's illumination, placed a finger on his mouth and motioned for him to stay. He nodded.
Carefully, the elf parted the dense shrubs, quietly slipping up into the crowns of the surrounding forest. Cold determination took over her thinking, the tears, tiredness and arguments of the past day pushed into a far corner of her mind.
She knocked out the first hunter using the flat of her blade, hanging head over heels from a strong branch.
The second choked on a sling she dropped around his neck. Like his companion before him, she pulled him into the branches and tied him to the tree, making sure he was still alive.
The last dodged the flat of her blade and managed to yelp in pain before she managed to pacify him with a choke hold. She tied rope around the guy's waist and started lifting him into the tree.
"Ah, yer doin' it again!", came an annoyed shout from below her, "I jus' told you I don't appreciate your strugglin' none!"
A massive hand closed around her ankle and tore her off the tree. The wounds she'd collected broke open and the impact of her landing on the ground knocked the air from her lungs.
Fear hammered on her focus as the massive man dragged her into the camp, his grip relentless.
He then made the mistake of letting go. She jerked up, ignoring her sliced calf's painful protest. With a jump, she kicked at his head. There was an expression of mild surprise on his face. His heavy, iron-clad elbow came barrelling into her side.
Callum frantically searched for a way to help her, eyes darting all over their camp. She rolled on the ground, gasping for air while her assailant bent over to grab her by the wrist. He effortlessly lifted her off the ground, and moved closer to the still burning fire.
"Annoying till the last, ye midget", he growled.
She was gasping from the earlier impact and struggling, trying to find some sort of purchase on the ground or on his body but he just held her further away.
"Now then. Buddy, if yer still out there ye should come out cause otherwise I'm gonna start experimentin' on how well this here elf works as kindlin'!"
Callum's mind raced. Fulminis would hit her, too, since they were touching. Then his eyes fixed onto the giant's dress.
"A'right, got it.", he shouted, dropping her on the floor and grabbing one of her horns, getting ready to throw her forward. She yelped.
At this, Callum shot up with Zym in his backpack, the sign for Aspiro already glowing. It was the only thing he knew to do, and this was as good a chance as he was going to get.
The spell dug into the bonfire, spraying both Rayla and her attacker in white-hot embers. Unlike Rayla, he was wearing a heavy coat which almost immediately caught fire. He swore, reflexively releasing the elf.
Now panicking, he tried to tear off the blazing coat.
Callum ran into the campground, roughly rolled into Rayla, making her cry out once more. Throwing her over his shoulders, he started to run, finding unbelievable strength in his tired body. He didn't dare stopping until the camp was out of sight and he could no longer hear the barbarian's angry shouting.
He found shelter under a small, earthy overhang and dropped everything he carried. Soaked in sweat and gasping for air, he did not take time to compose himself.
"Rayla!", he started turning her on her side but she shook her head.
"M'okay", she whispered hoarsely.
"Let me see what's wrong with you!", he struggled with her until she eventually shoved him away.
"I'm fine! Calm down! We're okay!", she hissed.
"This is insane! We can't keep doing this.", he slumped to the ground, panting.
Zym attempted to nuzzle him. He lightly shoved the little dragon aside.
"What if this beast comes after us again?", he demanded angrily.
"What if he's burning to death in our campground?", she hissed back.
Callum suddenly got very cold. Yes - what if?
"I need to go back and check.", she said angrily.
"I'll come..", he started.
"You will sit here and make sure you keep Zym out of trouble, is what you're gonna do!", she cut him off angrily, "Shut up, sit down and let me check out the situation!"
Without another word, she hurried off, hobbling on every fourth or fifth step and pressing a hand to her side.
He watched her shape fade into the night and immediately wished they had not parted like this.
After a moment of silence, he turned to the unhappy whelp. "I'm sorry. This is just too much. Wait here, please, quietly."
He got up and, after a few moments of teetering on his unsteady legs, made his way to the embankment on the side of the river opposite of the camp.
He took a few eager gulps of the clear water, filled his canteens and then climbed back to the treeline.
From here, he could see the shine of the fading fire, but heard nothing.
After a moment or two, he realized how pointless his presence here was. He was no master of stealth and if Rayla was in trouble he would not be able to tell from where he was. All he could do now is do what she demanded and watch over Zym.
After returning to the shelter with the little dragon, Callum spent some time going over the few provisions he had carried in this backpack. Mostly, it was to keep busy. If their camp was compromised for good, they would have nothing but a foot length of rope, four full canteens of water, a short, dull knife he was meaning to sharpen and five slices of hard tack. This was meagre provisions for the miles long trek to the nearest village.
A few times he thought he could hear Rayla returning and looked about to find himself alone with the little dragon.
"What if she's not coming back?", the thought sliced into his exhausted mind like a searing knife. He didn't have an answer, either.
If Rayla did not return, the mission would probably end another few miles down the road when the next group of dragon hunters from one or another nation tracked him down.