Falling Back

JP with Bandorchu, Lucian, Lorem, and Omni

“Where is Gonyual?” Voah asked, catching had breath.

“Don’t know.”

Alexis felt like she hadn’t seen her friend all battle. Another sting to her heart. She could only place her faith in his ingenuity and pray that somehow, he was alright.

All she could do right now was to help get as many people into the mine as possible.

Gonyaul determined that his little stunt wouldn’t work a second time with the group of archers. At best, it would have to be a new set of suckers. He caught up with Amu. The horse wouldn’t let him get on, so he had to take the reigns and walk beside.

He shouldered the bow and quiver half full of arrows and as quick as possible made his way back to the mines the way he came out. He kept the horse between him and the archers, all the while wishing he new how to effectively use the weapon. If he could, he would have been able to flank the archers with it.

To any taking notice, the full girl version of Gonyaul was heading to the mine with Amu.

"They can't see us beyond the dark of the mine entrance. But we will be able to see them." Voah said to Alexis, holding up her bow with a hopeful and breathless grin.

They marched on and a moment later, Amu came trotting along with an extra pair of legs behind.

Gonyaul peeked out from behind Amu, “Voah! Alexis! Alright?”

He was so happy to see them. They looked awful in regards to how beat up they looked. Meanwhile he looked absolutely delectable. And was he carrying weapons?

Gonyaul fell in with them to the mine entrance.

Voah lifted her blade at first when the realization kicked in that there was a person behind the horse. Until someone appeared... Whaaaat? Gonyaul? It was almost comical. He looked very much like a woman. Probably more convincing than her disguise as a man. She lowered the blade in relief.

"We will manage, I think. Thank the Pillars. But we are missing Tarmen. Perhaps he's already made it inside." Voah responded.

Alexis sighed a breath of relief at Gonyaul’s sudden appearance, make-up and all. His get-up was downright surreal on the backdrop of desperate battle.

She wasn’t as hopeful that Tarmen had already retreated to the mine - highly unlikely - but she hoped that he would, and soon, Pillars damn it!

Amu wouldn’t go any closer to mine and Gonyaul had to leave her at the wagon.

He had not seen Tarmen at all while he was out there and hoped he was still alive and kicking.

Gonyaul offered any support the two ladies would have taken him up on, first to Alexis who seemed to be limping. In addition, he presented for either one to take the bow and arrow set off his person should they want to. It was but an ornament when he held them, but a deadly weapon in their hands.

Tarmen didn’t have much luck with horses, most of them having bolted from the commotion. The soldiers with him were growing anxious with this development and he wasn’t feeling the best about it either.

Heading back, his gut fell at the seeing how badly they were holding on. It made him mad.

At the raiders for choosing such a piss poor pile of shacks to attack, at the miners for being so damn scared of the mine that they would rather be slaughtered than go in, and at himself for trying to hold the forge instead of going to the mine to begin with.
It had been too much thinking and right now, he saw it all as a waste. Pillars forbid Zane get on his ass for this.

He ordered the soldiers to get back to the forge and help them retreat, while he looked for an opening. Several riders took his bait, though they split off further to take on the soldiers and Tarmen separately.

When one rode close and swung low, Tarmen grabbed the arm and stuck his feet into the ground. He nearly threw out his only good shoulder from the horse’s momentum, but succeeded in making the man fall off of his horse. Two more tried to rush him, taking both sides with spears.
One horse lost a leg from the hefty machete, while the other rider sliced across his back.

He wanted to fight. He wanted the rage to fuel him so he could show that frostbitten ass who he was.

His body protested at every turn, still recovering from pushing him through the caves and it couldn’t do it again.
It could get him to some form of safety though, that Tarmen would make sure of. He tried to find the soldiers he had taken with him, only finding two of their corpses. He couldn’t think of what happened to the woman that was with them, needing to focus on survival. He could feel bad about it later, for now pushing himself towards the mine.

From the entrance, Voah watched the fight. The remaining soldiers were fending off the horses as best they could while making their way toward the mines. She spotted Tarmen.

She didnt hesitate to take the bow from Gonyual. It was in better condition than the one she had recovers. She took the quiver and got into a better position for firing out of the caves.

Holding the bowstring back was painful on her battered arms but she knew she could get off at least a few shots. It was evident that Hunter’s training had paid off.

She set her focus on one rider in particular and fired. Miss! But at least it didn’t hit any if the soldiers either. The next one hit home, driving an arrow right into the man’s chest as he raised his weapon to slash down in someone. He was only stunned for a moment. While he recovered from the attack she readied a third arrow. He was a moving target, but she was more confident with the weapon now. She steadied her aim and her breath… and loosed.

The man fell from his horse before he could bear down on Tarmen.