The day had dawned dark and gloomy, the clouds sagging ominously from the sky and the trees bowing deeply in the oddly-warm winds. Storm shutters banged and little cyclones of dried leaves whirled through the nearly-deserted streets of Southshore. A stray cat darted across the road and disappeared into a cluster of bushes.
Mariella glanced up at the sky, the wind whipping her hair over her face. A distant grumble of thunder rolled across the hills and rooftops like approaching war drums.
"It's going to be a big one," she commented, pulling her helmet over her head. Kennon shrugged.
"S'alrigh'. Never minded the rain too much."
Mariella grinned in spite of herself. It was always sunny skies for Kennon. As much as she hated to admit it, the lazy arse had sort of grown on her during their few weeks together. Lightning ignited the sky, followed closely by another ripple of thunder.
By the time the escort group had set out from the town, fat raindrops had begun to pelt them and the surrounding hills. They forged on, though, determined to at least make it to the settlement at the fields before seeking shelter.
But just ten minutes into the daily trek, the downpour began.
Rain pattered hollowly off of Mariella's helm, a few renegade drops sprinkling down her face and dripping beneath her collar. The downpour was so heavy she could hardly see up ahead. The group stopped a minute under a small canopy of trees, but the young foliage hardly offered proper sanctuary from the elements.
"Perhaps, we should turn back!" one of the farmers called over the roar of the rain.
Mariella was about to reply, but nearly jumped out of her skin when a deafening crack of thunder split the air. Almost simultaneously, a ribbon of lightning laced the clouds and lit the hills like broad daylight.
Beads of adrenaline burst inside of Mariella and rocketed through her limbs when she caught a glimpse of the landscape. There were dark shapes everywhere.
She stood stock still, her brain trying to register what she had just seen.
She quickly glanced at Kennon. He looked more serious than she had ever seen him. Her heart rate picked up. He had seen it, too.
The winds had died down and now the rain fell in straight curtains. The only sound was the torrents pounding the earth and the trees. Lightning flashed and the thunder growled like an unseen beast in the darkness. She saw nothing this time but trees and empty fields.
"We should go back," she said to Kennon. His gaze was fixated on something in the distance. Mariella stared in the same direction but saw nothing except for endless sheets of falling water. "Kennon," she said, a little louder in case he hadn't heard her the first time. "We should-"
He held up a hand to silence her, the other straying to the broad sword at his back. Mariella's heart was beating a mile a minute.
"Get ready," was all he said.
"W-why? What is it? I don't s-" she started, squinting hard through the rain.
Kennon drew his sword.
"It's an ambush."