They made it near to the end of Moonsbit Pass without more than a few falling rocks to slow them down. It was a boring place for the eyes; gray-brown packed sand, gray rocks and boulders, sparse gray-green brush and dark brown dying trees every so often. It became hard to stay alert in such a drab, lifeless environment. Even the pawns ceased their endless prattle and Ceileigh felt herself staring at the ground ahead in a daze as she walked. Her mind wandered to buying new weapons in the capital since Leandor was borrowing Enlistment Corps equipment right now. She was sure Mercedes would take it back when they parted ways. It was weird that Mercedes was helping them at all, with the attitude she had.
As they approached the final, downward curve of the pass, a small stone whizzing past Ceileigh's face snapped her back to reality. A few more steps revealed the canyon's exit gate, blocked by a sizeable band of angry goblins.
"Stupid humans!" they shrieked, shaking their fists and weapons. "Why are you here! You die now!"
A bigger goblin wearing heavier armor at the back of the group shouted and motioned them to charge. Ceileigh was surprised they had any type of rank or organization, but there it was.
"Rally, men! Protect the cargo!" Mercedes cried. Humans, pawns and goblins clashed together with battle cries and clanging weapons.
Leandor dodged the first goblin that charged him and knocked it to the ground. He ran it through and moved on to the next without skipping a beat. Ceileigh envied him his size as she grappled with another goblin. Finally she pushed it down, knelt on its stomach and drove a dagger into its throat, but not before it sat up enough to clobber her with its shield. Next time pin the chest, she noted, holding the side of her head.
Alvin hung back, chanting under his breath as he lifted his staff. In a few moments the ground under the goblin chief softened and seemed to become rotten. Yellow, brown and green fumes curled up around the creature and from the look on its face the smell was horrible. It clutched its stomach and began to sweat.
Rita enchanted the group's weapons with fire so they left burning wounds where they stabbed. Both sides fought fiercely, but only goblins were falling. Ceileigh managed to take three more down, but felt like she was dodging and blocking more than anything. She felt overwhelmed by the number of enemies. Ceileigh pushed one away and embers flew from its chest as the soldier next to her stabbed it through the heart. She finally fell into step behind Leandor; he carved a path through the pack and she picked off whatever stragglers didn't die instantly. Soldiers fanned out behind them, systematically taking out the rest of the mob.
When all the rest were dead, they reached the chief to find him swaying on his knees. Leandor chopped the creature's head off with a single swing. He makes it looks so easy, Ceileigh thought.
"What was wrong with him?" She asked, gesturing at the goblin chief with her chin.
Alvin spoke up from behind them. The hem of his robe was covered in dissolving goblin splatter. "I used a spell to poison it," he explained. "It is part of my role as a sorcerer to debilitate enemies so they are weakened when we face them."
"Nice," Ceileigh said. The soldiers gathered around to congratulate Ceileigh's party and each other, and to gawk at the chief.
Mercedes cut through the crowd and made for the gate. "Come, men! We are due in Gran Soren and we do not want to be caught in the dark!" She pulled a green lever beside the gate and it slowly creaked upward.
"I'm glad that's over!" Ceileigh said to Leandor. "It's almost harder fighting them than a bigger creature for me. There are so many and you have to watch everywhere at once. It's difficult choosing who to go after."
"Even in numbers, a weakling is a weakling still," Alvin said confidently.
Ceileigh reddened. "Sorry if I have trouble with 'weaklings', I haven't existed only to fight my whole life," she said indignantly. Alvin looked at her curiously.
Leandor pushed Alvin back gently and stood between them. "We can all train more when we reach Gran Soren, Arisen. It is the center of all Gransys; surely it will provide us great opportunities," he said. "I am sure you will excel at all scenarios in a short time."
Ceileigh nodded mutely, and they headed through the gate. She appreciated Leandor's support and understanding. From what she'd seen so far, he seemed to have more people skills than the average pawn. She suddenly noticed a goblin hiding in a bush to her right. She brought an arrow to her cheek and it sprouted from the creature's neck in the next instant. How about that? Looks like I'm getting something right, she thought proudly, her mood lightening a little. She and Leandor exchanged a look; even though he didn't quite smile, it felt like he did.
The path took a left turn, downward again, into open country. It widened into a well-managed red dirt road. To either side, trees of all sizes stood here and there over grass-covered plains and gently rolling hills. A few small ruins, sections of old walls, stood a ways down the road. Beyond that, the massive stone walls of Gran Soren loomed.
"We're almost there, men!" Mercedes called, motioning them to follow her and the cart. Ceileigh fell in with the soldiers as they spread out to march in a ring formation around the cart. Night time was an hour or two off as far as she could tell. A faint snorting sound drew her attention to a small herd of cows at the side of the road. They watched the group's passing with calm, droopy eyes. They remind me of Rook, she laughed to herself.
As they approached the ruin walls, a soldier pointed and cried out. "Bandits!"
Arrows suddenly rained down on them. Two soldiers fell, clutching their wounds. Other arrows hit the ground or stuck in the hydra's head. The ox pulling the cart stumbled for a moment and Ceileigh was alarmed to see an arrow lodged just above its shoulder. Mercedes shouted encouragement and threats alike to her men. She seemed enraged by this latest interruption. She held up her sword and shouted, "We will get this prize to Gran Soren if we have to carry it there ourselves!"
The first bandit the soldier had spotted was walking toward them carefully, sword and shield at the ready, but the rest were still hidden. Alvin called down lightning on one of the ruins and men scattered from it like rats. Soldiers ran after them, shouting. Alvin repeated his attack with each section of wall, flushing out more groups of bandits.
Ceileigh tried not to panic as she whirled to face man after man. It was the worst possible scenario for her. These enemies were both strong and intelligent, and there were a lot of them. On top of that, she was getting physically worn down. She was barely fending them off as it was, and she couldn't go on much longer.
Suddenly Leandor was at her side. "Strength in numbers, Arisen. Stay close to me," he said, positioning himself between her and the nearest bandit. She felt a rush of gratitude but also felt ashamed for being the weakest person there. Once again she found herself in Leandor's wake as he easily sliced his way forward alongside the soldiers. Before she knew it the outlaw's numbers had dwindled significantly. The remaining men were either retreating or firing arrows from afar.
Leandor lunged to the left, his shield catching an arrow that was headed straight for Ceileigh's face. With the rogue's position revealed, Ceileigh fired an arrow of her own and saw him topple out from behind a bush. I killed a person, she thought distantly, quickly followed by, but he would have killed ME. See them only as the enemy, or you'll be dead.
Glancing back, Ceileigh noticed Mercedes alone, cornered by a huge bandit. He carried a wide broadsword as long as himself, lined with teeth on both sides. He had her trapped against a cluster of big rocks with nowhere to run. Mercedes blocked his next blow but was knocked to the ground. The bandit raised his sword to finish her off, but Ceileigh put an arrow in his shoulder and he bellowed angrily, turning to find his attacker. She was already running in an arc around him; she fired three more arrows in rapid succession and two found their way deep into his torso.
The man ran at her despite his injuries, somehow holding the huge sword above his head, looking furious and ready to slice her right in half. From the corner of her eye Ceileigh saw Mercedes jump up and run to join the rest of the group, leaving her to fend for herself against this giant. She pushed back anger and focused on dodging the bandit's first blow. He buried a good third of the sword into the ground where she'd just been standing. Wow this guy is strong! she thought with a new stab of fear. She knew she didn't stand a chance fighting him directly.
She ran back toward the rocks and he followed, slicing at her as they ran. Ceileigh was very fast, but the distance was too short for her to get ahead. She tried climbing the rocks, but he was on her too quickly. She barely dodged another blow that clanged against the stone instead, then circled the boulders to put a barrier between them. She was edging backward with her bow at the ready when she heard a footstep and realized he was sneaking up behind her. She spun around and he punched her, hard, right in the nose. She dropped instantly, blinded with pain. She vaguely felt blood streaming down her face and heard the bandit laughing as he raised his sword again.
Suddenly he arched up on his tiptoes, his arms bending unnaturally far back over his head. His hands tightened so hard on his sword hilt that his knuckles were white and all the veins in his arms stood out. Ceileigh rolled onto her side, hands over her nose, to see crackles of lightning covering his body. Alvin stood a few feet behind the man, maintaining the spell that effectively paralyzed him. A sword sliced through the bandit's chest from behind, Alvin released the spell, and the man fell face-first onto the ground. Leandor yanked his sword from the body and stepped over it to pull Ceileigh to her feet.
"Master! Are you alright?" he asked, his voice full of concern. Rita was there too, her staff glowing with that yellow-green light that meant a healing spell. The light surrounded Ceileigh and once again she felt her injuries mending, only this time it was more painful and she cried out, glaring at Rita even though she didn't deserve it. Of course the mage didn't seem affected by her anger.
"We will be faster next time, master," Leandor said solemnly, looking very repentant.
Ceileigh couldn't help but smile at the look on his face, like he had committed the worst sin imaginable. It was endearing that he took his duty so seriously, even if it was because of the Arisen-pawn bond.
"You were here in time, that's what counts. All this happened much faster than I realized. I shouldn't have let myself get separated like this, and you - all of you - saved my life. Thank you," she said. "And I'm sorry I got mad at you, Rita. Once again I feel better than new after being healed."
"It is not only my duty, but an honor," said Rita, inclining her head.
Ceileigh shook off the compliment by turning toward Gran Soren. "Now let's catch up with that bitch Mercedes and ask why she abandoned me to die after I came back to save her sorry ass."
"Humans certainly have many colorful phrases," Alvin noted.
"As long as you're with me, you'll hear a lot of them," Ceileigh laughed as they started toward the city. The rest of their party was almost at the main gate already.
Ceileigh turned to Rita as they walked. "Can you tell my nose was broken?" she asked.
"Everything is as it should be, Arisen," was Rita's reply. "Your nose has returned to its original shape."
"Oh…," Ceileigh said, feeling it gently with her fingertips.
"Are you…disappointed?" Rita asked, seeing the look on her face.
Leandor watched the exchange with something that might be called amusement. This Arisen was different from most other female Arisen he assisted from time to time. If he were human, he would probably find her personality…endearing.
Author's Note: UGH. I totally struggled with this chapter for some reason. I hope it all makes sense and you can picture what's happening. Please review and let me know what you think! And now to shamelessly plug my husband's story-in-progress: go check out Lift Me up, a Resident Evil fanfic by Soul of Draken. )