The Hills of Evendim RPG

[Lumiel]

She could feel the steady beat of her heart, throbbing a quick pulse through the cut on her lower back. It seemed to echo in her head as she waited for what seemed an unrelenting eternity for Finewen and Falowik's signal. And then it came.

She could hear them shout and holler to the brigands, and heard their horses neigh in challenge. Those surrounding the copse had a quick council and then ten of the men pounded off to meet the two on the hills. They passed not far from where she lay pressed on the grass, looking like another dead body among many. She lay still as stone as her eyes silently followed them. It was time.

There were fourteen men left, all spread out along the edges of the small copse. Quietly, she got to her feet and nearly crawled towards them, taking out two daggers from hidden folds as she went, her sword sheathed for the moment at her side. Two were just ahead of her, and she could hear Eswen's dark voice penetrating like a knife through the night air, making the men back up a pace in fear.

Taking her chance, she swept forward, still carrying herself low to the ground, and cut the hind leg tendons of two of the horses as she ran between them. Both cried in pain and surprise and fell towards the ground, either throwing off their masters or landing on top of them. Before they hit the ground though, she rolled beneath the one on her right and threw a deadly aimed dagger at the neck of the rider who was not ten feet away. He had only barely turned to the sudden attack, his sword half unsheathed. He clutched at his throat with claw-like hands and slumped off of his mount, which trampled over him in its fearful hurry to escape.

Behind her, she heard the thunderous gallop of a horse with the war cry of a man. Turning on one foot, she saw he was nearly on her, sword raised in his right hand. She stepped deftly to her right just as the horse sped by and yanked on the reins as hard as she could. The horse neighed fiercely as it was thrown off-balance and stumbled to the ground, throwing the rider off several feet away. Knowing that he was the greatest danger to her at the moment, she drew her sword and ran to where he now lay. Seeing her unnaturally calm battle face beside her blood-sick blade gave his instinct the jump it needed to let him survive. He rolled away and quickly to his feet as she swung with a quick darting motion at where he had previously been. He returned with a heavy-handed overswing and Lumiel blocked it, pushing out and around as she did so, nearly throwing the sword from the man's hands. Two were gone and she had a third busy. She only hoped that the others could take care of the rest.