The party made their way out of the tomb stopping briefly to double check on the guards in the room with the now destroyed shield statues. As they approached the main junction near the surface they began to hear muffled voices, many more than they expected given the guard presence when they first infiltrated.
"Shit, they've definitely brought in reinforcements. How are we going to get out of this?" said Charles, his voice a hushed whisper.
Akash scanned their surroundings, trying to find anything of use in the vicinity. His eyes latched onto a cart that was filled with an assortment of mining paraphernalia and he had a wonderful idea. "Hey!" he whispered to get the group's attention. "We can use that cart to get out of here. We'll hitch Buck and I up to it and while we're running you guys can be in the cart laying down covering fire."
"I get why we would hook up Buck, but uhh, why you too?" Asked Charles incredulously, "It's not like you're a horse."
"I mean, I'm not right now, but I can be if I want to."
Charles just stared at Akash slack-jawed, "What exactly do you mean? You can just turn into a horse?"
"Yeah, horse, squirrel, dog, really any basic animal that I have seen before, most of my people can do it. But that aside, do we want to do this or does anybody else have suggestions?"
"I think it's a pretty good idea but I will add a suggestion." Piped in Halimedes, "Before we get to the guards I'll make my dancing lights into that burning man again to distract them as we ride out."
"I like it. Well, one moment and we can get this setup." Akash leaned forward, his body rapidly growing, clothes and gear molding into his new form, and in the blink of an eye he had been replaced by a toned blue roan horse with a striking white mane. Then in a brisk trot he made his way to the cart and lined up to be harnessed to the cart.
"Well that is certainly something." Muttered Charles as he led Buck next to Akash to be harnessed alongside him. A couple of minutes of preparation later they were ready. Akash and Buck chomping at their bits ready to literally run for their lives and the rest of their party putting the finishing touches on their preparations to defend the cart from the awaiting soldiers. They started up the final approach to the mouth of the mine, and just before entering the torch-light Halimedes summoned the man of fire, his form bursting to life right in the middle of the huddled guards who appeared to be briefing the newcomers as to the night's previous event.
"I'm telling you, there was a man who was made of fire that just showed up, burned down Jim's tent and then disappeared, so sorry if we are a little on edge tonight!" One shouted at another.
"Are you sure you didn't have too much to drink, and catch the tent on fire while…" The second guard's response was cut off as Hal's creation appeared, "Oh my gods!"
"See! I told you!" The first guard shrieked, stepping back into the path of the now speeding cart led by Akash and Buck. Their pace did not slow as they plowed through the guards. Just as they made it to the center of the encampment Akash's flanks exploded with light as the same archer constellation came into being. From his mouth Akash expelled an arrow of starlight cutting the leads of the soldiers' horses causing a couple of them to rear and bolt into the woods themselves. The rest of the party caused as much chaos as they could from the back of the cart, firing various projectiles at the scrambling soldiers, who were attempting to mount a defense in the whirlwind of the party's escape.
Just as they reached the treeline Akash extinguished his constellation as to not be a beacon in the forest for the soldiers who had managed to reign in their own mounts and had given chase.
"Holy Hells, that actually worked!" Exclaimed Naivara as she reloaded her revolver. "I was half expecting us to be turned into living quivers with the amount of guards they had posted up outside."
"Yeah, but they're still coming after us!" Yelled Gnoll, the wind tearing at his words. "Charles, help me rig up a tripwire, when we get into town we can get them off our tail." The two got to work rigging a javelin to a heavy crossbow bolt with a length of rope.
By now the soldiers had just about managed to catch up their unencumbered steeds more than making up for their lost distance. Sparks from steel on steel flashed in the forest as Gnoll, Charles and Halimedes fended off the attacks while Naivara fired her revolver, whose reports sounded like a spring thunderstorm in the dense forest. Eventually, after weaving the cart through the trees and underbrush they broke through the outer edge of the forest into Three Falls proper. At this late hour the streets had thankfully been completely abandoned. Pushing hard Akash and Buck swung the cart around the corners of the buildings, the wooden wheels groaning in protest to being torn sideways on the packed dirt streets. Right as they swung into a particularly narrow street Gnoll and Charles unleashed their tripwire, the javelin breaking through a window and as the rope was pulled taught by the crossbow bolt getting fired, imbedding itself in a sturdy wooden door the javelin was pulled sideways finding purchase on the inside of the window. A moment later the first of the pursuing riders turned down the street only to be stopped in his tracks as the tripwire caught his chest flinging both himself and his horse to the ground. As the companion riders turned the corner they too fell prey to the chaos that now lined the street, as horses and man became entangled in a writhing mass.
"Yeah!" the party exclaimed, overjoyed with how well their plan had worked. However, their celebration was cut short as they reached the end of the street and turned onto the main drag of town. Word had spread faster than they had anticipated and now a small blockade had been constructed in their path. Akash and Buck strained to turn the cart, but to no avail, the wheels finally gave in, splintering into kindling, flipping the cart in the process. Being flung from the back of the cart the party fell hard on the road. Akash's horse form collapsed back into his standard appearance, as he stumbled out of the harness making his way back to his compatriots who were finding their own footing.
As the guards at the blockade closed in, the party managed to mount a semblance of a defensive formation protecting Charles and the mace. Gnoll and Hal took the frontline clashing with the guards in an outmatched duel. Akash slung spells from the backline while Naivara fired off pot-shots, one of which took a guard in the jaw, sending him to an early grave.
"Charles, get out of here! we can hold them off!" Yelled Halimedes as he parried the incoming thrust of a guard, returning with his own in kind.
"Are you sure?" Charles shouted back, "I can help!"
"We'll be fine, just get out of here!"
Pursing his lips Charles let out a piercing whistle and Buck perked up, and even though he was still tangled with the wreckage of the cart he faded for a moment and then came back to full being, galloping towards Charles who caught the reigns, swinging onto Buck's saddle as he passed.
The fight continued, and after the exchange had settled, two guards lay dead, the rest unconscious. Akash, Gnoll, Halimedes, and Naivara limped their way out of town, heading for the farm where they first learned of the Guild of Three Falls hoping that Charles and Buck delivered the mace in time to save the soldier back in Greenmeadow.