Aaerynn watched with widening eyes as the red head sliced the lead bandits into bits. His moves were precise, fast and unmerciful. It was the only indication that she needed to start. She nocked an arrow back, letting it sail and hitting an archer in the side of the temple.
She continued, her hands in constant motion, readying arrow after arrow. The last archer eluded her as the bandits all began to attack. The female elf jumped down off her horse and pulled back her bow string, letting an arrow zing as a man opened his mouth wide in a yell. The arrow impaled through his mouth to the back of his head.
She used her bow as a weapon, whipping the bow’s limbs across the face of the bandits, forcing them back as she let an arrow fly quickly, one after the other. They were moving in fast on her, and her elbow smashed into the face of a man as she readied another arrow. She finally caught sight of the last archer, and it was her arrow that struck the back of his neck and forced his fall.
The rest of the archers, she was surprised to see, were taken down already. As she unsheathed her dagger and stuck a man in his abdomen, she finally saw the scribbler. He was standing in front of a cart with his sword; an arrow embedded in his chest and behind him was the filthy half elf with what must have been the scribbler’s crossbow. He seemed to be protecting her while she fumbled with the weapon.
Aaerynn frowned before whipping her dagger across a bandit’s throat, blood spurting across her ivory face. Quickly she moved, disemboweling a man that was in her way before she climbed up on top of the carts. She sheathed her dagger and went back to her bow, providing cover for the rest as the last wave of the bandits hit.
Setna had watched like the rest as Tirian showed his prowess. He killed as if it didn’t matter to him, as if he had done it many times in the past. The young boy felt himself tremble at the display, in awe at complete an utter power that had been unleashed in a matter of seconds.
Tirian’s attack sparked the battle as suddenly all the bandits converged into an attack on the party. Setna’s dark eyes met the lighter ones of the largest bandit. Smoothly, Setna wiped away the remaining blood trickling down his busted nose and readied himself.
He was surprised however as other bandits rushed him, but the result was the same. As the first bandit charged, the boy locked his feet into the ground, his shield raised. As the bandit’s body hit his shield, Setna moved with the momentum, twisting his body and throwing the bandit over his shoulder. The next he twisted his hips, his shield coming into full contact with the man’s body, knocking him back with force.
Setna had been scared. Scared to pull out his sword. Scared to use it because there was no going back now. But as the bandits continued, he finally unsheathed it.
It was do or die, and once you die you are of use to no one.
He shielded himself from a sword, and finally spun his body, his blade slicing across the stomach of a bandit who fell to his knees. Setna’s dark blue eyes took in the blood that rushed from the injury, the cut that he had made and forced through another human body. His breath caught in his throat, his heart beat pounding in his ears.
He continued. Next after next, he shielded, spun, and attacked. His blade sliced cleanly through flesh, with the blood of his enemies splattered across him. His eyes had gone dark.
That is, until the large man finally moved in. He had unsheathed an even larger blade and Setna found himself pushed back as the blade slammed and clanged against his shield. He was able to dodge a few swings but as the blade came down, the boy was forced to his knees.
It was an arrow, though, that had suddenly lodged itself in the giant man’s knee which gave Setna an opportunity. He opened up and his blade sliced through the thigh of the other leg, he propped up fast and stabbed his blade clean through the giant’s shoulder.
The giant man merely grunted, and the boy watched with wide eyes as the bandit grabbed the blade with his bare hand and pulled it out. The bandit twisted it, and it was torn out of Setna’s hand, thrown to the side, useless.
The boy lifted his shield, but the bandit merely grabbed a hold of it, and threw it across the field, Setna along with it. The force of his body hitting the ground, made Setna lose his breath and let go of the shield. The teenager gasped for air as the bandit approached slowly and raised his blade.
As it swung down it was met by steel, Caelis’ blade fended it off, and the man was able to push the bandit back. Setna quickly turned over, scrambling to his feet as he grabbed his shield and quickly ran for his sword. As he picked it up, he was able to see Caelis thrown off and Setna held his breath as the monster of a man turned back on him.
The man began rushing forward, able to still sprint on legs that had been diced by the weapons of his enemies. Setna readied his shield but it was no match for the monster, it was forced away and Setna gagged as a fist was sent into his stomach, just below the ribcage. Another landed across his face, making the boy stumble. The monster readied for his final attack, and it was Setna’s only shot. As the man came down to crush the boy’s skull with his bare hands, Setna pushed forward, blade in hand as it then pierced through the man’s chest.
Setna watched the man’s face as blood dribbled out of his mouth and down his chin. The boy watched as the man gargled and gasped, then Setna pulled the blade out, watching as blood oozed out of a hole in the bandit’s chest. Setna’s eyes unfocused, his breathing heavy and harsh through his nostrils.
Setna stared, his face cold and neutral as the man before him gave his last breath. He watched as his eyes clouded, and the giant stopped its twitching, the body turning still. Slowly the teenager stepped forward, raised his blade and stabbed the body again.
He pulled the blade out, his breathing turning ragged before he raised it and struck again. His eyes had clouded, and for a third time he raised his blade to strike again.
But a body pressing against his back, and two slender arms holding him, stopped him.
“Stop it!” Serna cried, holding her brother tightly and attempting to pull him back from the dead body. “That’s enough!!”
Something in Setna came back; his eyes slowly began to display life as he heard his sister’s voice begging him to stop. The sword fell from his hand as his limbs began to tremor. His eyes widened in horror as he looked down at the body in front of him.
“I…S-s…” He couldn’t find words as he slowly fell to his knees, lurched over, and vomited everything up from his stomach.
In the end, it was the dwarf who ended up not fighting at all. Instead, he slowly walked up to Tirian and gave the red head a few solid pats on the back. “Thank you dear friend.” The dwarf mumbled, as he turned to watch the battling play out.
As the large man was forced down, the rest of the surviving bandits retreated into the wood, leaving their weapons behind. They were soon shot down by Aaerynn’s arrows and the caravan grew quiet. Everyone was bloodied in some way or another, and Rudolf searched for injuries. A few arrows stuck out of flesh, and Setna’s face had received a decent beating.
“Thank you everyone, for the courage and skill you have shown today. Come, let’s move ahead to a spring I know of and we shall rest. It’s not too far from here.” Rudolf addressed the crowd and led the oxen forward.
Serna tossed her brother’s arm over her shoulders, and the small girl began to help her brother walk, holding onto him and dragging his shield and blade behind her. Setna’s body trembled and as the teenage girl looked at her brother’s face, she could see that his mind was not in the present. The girl’s hands shook, but she bit her bottom lip and continued to help her brother as the group traveled only a little ways into the wood until they found a clearing with a nice spring bubbling through.
There were remnants of a leftover camp, and it was easy to see who had been here before them.
Serna found a space for her brother to sit, and he slumped forward, faraway eyes staring at his bloodied hands. Serna frowned, and she held in tears as she rubbed his back and tried to get a response from him.
Rudolf approached Aaerynn, who had already walked toward the stream, using her hands to wash out the dried blood in her hair. “Will you look at their wounds? I’ll pay you of course.”
Aaerynn’s blue eyes glanced at the dwarf, but she remained silent as she looked back at the water. She cupped her hands and used them to wash her face of the grime and blood that had been splattered there. Finally she stood, and turned, heading towards the twins.
She approached Setna and lifted his head. Serna’s eyes widened as she asked. “What are you—?”
She was interrupted by a crack. Aaerynn had grabbed the boy’s nose, cracked it and reset it. Setna didn’t even cry out in pain, his eyes clouded over. The female elf frowned and glanced at his sister. “Lift his shirt.”
Serna understood what was going on and helped lift her brother’s tunic so the elf could expect any wounds. There was bruising forming across his stomach, and Aaerynn held practiced fingers against his ribs. “No fractures. Just bruising. Place something cold on it and clean him up.”
“Is there anything else?” Serna asked quietly, her large eyes boring into the elf’s. Aaerynn frowned further as she looked at the boy’s face.
“Just give him time.” She finally answered.
The she elf then moved to Caelis, and asked if he wanted any wounds looked at. She continued this for the others.
Serna returned her attention to her brother, he remained unresponsive, lost in his own world and thought. The girl bit her lip, before ripping off a long piece of her white dress. She stood and hurried to the spring, dipping the cloth into the cold water. She then returned to her brother, and began dabbing away at the blood across his face. There was so much she wasn’t exactly sure which was his and which was the men he killed.
Eventually she got his face cleaned off, and she helped him lay down, folding her cloak for his pillow. She didn’t know what to say or do, finally left standing there with a bloody rag in her hand. She looked down, feeling useless, her small hands tightening into little fists.
She walked back to the spring and dipped the dirty rag in the cold water, attempting to clean it off. It was futile, the white cloth was left to be a dirty brown and red color. The girl's eyes filled with tears but she fought them off, her hands shaking as she stood. She turned, going to walk back to her brother but that was when she nearly ran into Tirian. He had been so quiet she had not even noticed him approach.
She looked up at the warrior’s face, and saw the same distance in his eyes that was plaguing her brother’s. Serna had seen what Tirian had done. She saw the way he cut men into pieces without even a second thought. It had frightened her. It had scared her to the very core that one man was capable of tearing down others in a single swing. Yet as she continued to stare up at the warrior’s face, that fear didn’t matter.
This person was facing the same demons her brother had unleashed today. The girl slowly reached out, her fingertips gently brushing against the taller man’s forearm. “Sir Tirian, are you alright?” She asked him quietly, her genuine concern filling her large eyes.