A Bloody Melee

Like a caged animal, Voah slashed out in a flurry, her first dagger missing its target. The second hand connected, but only met the hide straps of the native. Frustrated with the athleticism of the man, she hopped backward and kicked him hard in the stomach sending him rolling back down the incline; his head meeting rock and root as he went.

Wasting too much time on the man left her vulnerable from behind and she took the blunt force of a club to the back of her head. The spearman made his way to the top of the incline and plunged his spear forward, not yet expecting to strike true but to distract his target. To his own surprise, his spear tore a gash in Voah's thigh.

She lost sight of Alexis now and not wanting to be flanked again by the tactics of these natives, Voah threw one of her daggers at the club wielding native and kicked the spearman's spear sideways as she dodged out of harm's way. When she regained her balance and composure, the Arbiter leapt off of the escarpment into one of the trees beyond. Her landing was not as graceful as she had hoped as her wounded leg was not cooperating, she slipped, slightly pulling the muscles in her arms, but at least she did not fall.

It turned out that she had managed to sink her dagger just above the collar of the club wielding native, he was clutching it now and as he approached the edge of the incline he angrily wrenched it free and threw it back with great accuracy in her direction. It would have been a dangerous shot had it not been for her training. Her reaction was was miraculous, she moved her head backward and swung her free hand in an arc, catching the projectile like it was simply being tossed to her.

There was no time to celebrate, however, as the spearman had his eye on her now. As she climbed down the tree his spear flew through the air, tearing through her hood, hair, ear, and the side of her face. It was very close to pinning her head to the tree. She pulled herself away from the spear and carefully climbed down to the ground. The three men were soon upon her under the tree where she stood injured. All of them were wounded now, all except the spearman who pulled a curved dagger from his belt and moved forward.

Voah and the spearman struck out simultaneously with their daggers, clashing arms together, but Voah, not ready to die, quickly used a tactic from Tarmen and grabbed the man's wrist. She brought her arm back slashing him deeply inside the arm and across his chest. She followed this by knocking his blade from his hand. As he staggered sideways she took a leap onto his shoulders taking him spinning ass over tea kettle to the ground where she twisted his neck between her thighs. She felt the snap. He wouldn't be anymore trouble.

Things began to slow down in her mind as the two natives with their clubs bore down on her. She dodged the first one without issue and deflected the blow from the second club and in a split second, she dropped her daggers and pulled the silver blade free, feeling the soft reverberating hum of the metal as it left its sheath. It came around and as she passed between the men and sank into the the neck of the one she had stabbed earlier. The blade continued all the way through bone and sinew until the man, continuing with his momentum, fell forward to the ground, sending his head rolling. Then, as Voah's body spun round, she chopped her left hand backward into the throat of the other club man, felling him as well.

She stood panting and bleeding like a feral beast as the wounded archer revealed himself from the dangling green of the jungle. The arrow sunk into her left shoulder. She barely felt it pierce her muscle, instead, she closed in on the archer faster than he could knock another arrow slashing her vengeful blade right through his face.

Then she sat back against the escarpment in exhaustion. She was dizzy from the adrenaline and melee so she meditated and for a while she was out of body and mind. For the moment she forgot all about Alexis, about Till, about all of the others as the swells of pain came in and out. When she returned to the jungle, she heard sounds of gurgling and choking. The archer was not quite dead and lay choking on his own blood. What was worse was the sound of more natives hooting very close to their position.

"Shutup." she whispered. The man did not stop his death rattle. "I said shut up." she hunched over the man and began to throttle him. "Shhhh. Go now. Zin take you." The other natives checked the bodies of their fallen tribe and ran passed in close proximity. She felt now that she was beset on all sides by enemies and her best bet was to tend to her wounds and make it back to the first camp. When the sounds of natives left and the jungle noises returned, she made her way back up the escarpment to try and get a closer look at her surroundings.

There was no sign of Alexis. She stood alone. Alone or not, she would not die yet. Noting the position of the sun through overcast sky, she thanked the Pillars and headed downhill, first in the direction of the stream, and then toward camp.