The Dawn Way

With the goods packed up on the wagon, we make our way from the warehouse. The rain is clearing up, but it is getting late. The noise of the battle has apparently gone unnoticed, and it is much easier making our way out of town than it was getting in. And so we believe we have gotten away cleanly. Oh, how wrong we are.

The rain has subsided, and the moon has come out from behind the clouds, bathing everything in a soft white glow. A few miles down the road towards Brindol we hear noise from behind us; the sound of horses – many horses – running towards us. “I’ll see what it is, but be ready for anything” says Ayas, as he whispers a silent prayer. In a flash of bright light, he summons his steed, a great white Pegasus. As he wings away, Dandelion tosses up an item he found in the warehouse; a blackened, painted skull. Far enough off of the ground to avoid notice, he flies in the direction they came and sees a dozen or more soldiers rapidly pursuing the wagon. At once he activates the skull, and immediately every torch carried by the soldiers wink out, still lit but producing no light. He stops long enough to notice the confusion of the soldiers, and then flies back to the wagon.

There, preparations for battle are underway. Kai has tied the reins to the wagon, while Wotan locks the wheels in place. Dandelion has dismounted and sent his warhorse away. Hoping to surround the pursuers, Wotan and Terik take up positions in the ditch thirty feet behind, hiding in the grass the best they can. Ayas soon confirms their suspicions, and flies his pegasus up and to the side. As the riders approach, Kai tries his best to quiet his boisterous new ally, Dandelion. Six riders break off from the group, three flanking around each side. The soldiers never see Wotan or Terik. With no more need for stealth, Kai draws his sword and draws on its power to light up the area. In the other hand, he grabs a javelin, narrowly missing a soldier on his right flank. As Wotan rises from the ditch, he curses the closest rider and blasts him with a quick bolt, sending the rider flying off of his horse and spreading his curse to the remaining two riders on the left flank. Taking his cue, Dandelion grabs his crossbow and tags the center rider, also knocking him off of his horse. From the darkness down the road, more soldiers rush the wagon, crying “Vistani! Get the Vistani!”

Two mounted soldiers rush up the middle, heading straight towards Dandelion. Only one manages to get past his armor, nicking his arm. Kai maneuvers off of the wagon and gets behind them just as two more rush towards the exposed Wotan. But Terik is ready, as he jumps up from the ditch and charges the nearest soldier, a big man that clearly leads this rabble. He strikes hard, but the man doesn’t fall. But the fury of the battle sends the remaining three riders fleeing, as Ayas wings down and spears one. Sensing more enemies that have not yet joined the fray, he flies to the rear and finds three archers readying arrows. With a voice amplified by magic, Dandelion shouts “Get Back!” sending the closest soldiers sprawling and placing Kai in a position to strike. With one huge swipe with his swords, he downs the two soldiers and slices the lieutenant, who still refuses to go down. The lieutenant strikes back, and with three swipes of his sword he cuts past Kai’s armor, despite one of Dandelion’s spells that deflected some of the damage. But that would be the only offense he would get, as Terik and Wotan brought the brunt of their offense against him. And before Dandelion can even rejoin the fray it is Kai, emboldened by the empath’s anger, that strikes the killing blow. The remaining soldiers fought for a few more seconds, but soon they fled. Knocking one to the ground, Ayas swore that should we see them again, they would be killed.

The survivors would most certainly report their losses to Hargill Trask, but that is an enemy we’ll have to deal with later. For now, our priority is making our way to Brindol. There is, after all, much more mead to drink!