Sunrise for the Damned [sraes]

[Coward]

Sid knew, very well. Going from a prosperous house in Oldtown to the desolation of the Outer Kingdom had been something like falling through the ice into a frozen lake. He'd spent a good few months at the start near-starving, and if he was honest he hadn't been faring that much better since. No one was, not out there. Still he shrugged, gave her a lopsided grin. After the ale it was genuine as well, bringing warmth to his eyes.


"Well, there's always prostitution." His grin widened.


He gave Kade a grateful look, not even pretending to argue as he accepted the mug.


"Thanks." In another few swallows it was half gone, and he leaned back in his chair with a creak, laying the bow out across his knees. The weight of it was comforting, and absently he drew his thumb along the string under the cloth. He should unstring it, but unstringing the bow always gave him a deep paranoia that he wanted to avoid, at least for tonight.


"Where will you go, Kade?"


In spite of himself he was still curious.

 

[sraes]

"Oh ho ho, now there's an idea!" Serna laughed, lightly tugging a lock of the man's blonde hair with a grin. "Always been partial to blondes myself."


"And redheads!" Vox chimed in easily.


"Brunettes." Kade agreed mockingly, smirking over at the woman who didn't bother to deny either of their allegations but simply shrugged with a smug look.


He shook his head in amusement and signaled for another round from the barkeep instead of getting up to get them himself - it would take a few minutes to reach them, but that would give the others time to work through the mugs they had so that was all well and good.


Settling back on the wide bench alongside the others he adjusted his sword to be out of the way but still within easy reach. There shouldn't be any trouble, but with alcohol flowing as freely as it was you could never be too sure.


"I don't have anything specific planned." He answered Daniel, a slightly embarrassed expression crossing his face for a moment. "There were a few jobs I heard about in Laeyth's regions - nothing concrete, just rumors - that I figured I'd look into. You're welcome to tag along if it's on your way."

 

[Coward]

He laughed, almost surprised at how natural it sounded. The sellswords were good company. In the warm glow of the tavern he was almost forgetting his earlier stupidity - the nausea receding to a dull ache of regret. The ale was helping, too, no denying that. He only wished he'd saved a little money, but he'd burned through it with complete abandon on the way here, three years of meager scavenger savings. He hadn't really thought he'd need enough for a return trip. Maybe I can trade some arrows. He'd already sold everything else, but the arrows were good.


Contemplative he took a long swig, pretending not to watch Kade's face. For some reason he seemed embarrassed by the question. Because he was at a loose end? Sid's whole life was a loose end. Laeyth wasn't on his way, because he had no idea where he was even going now. Suddenly he found that he didn't want to go off alone again, though, and Kade at least was someone who wouldn't slit his throat while he slept.


"I'm going that way, maybe I'll go to Roke." A province further along, good scavenging. He gave Kade an unreadable look. "If you don't mind, that is, but two people are safer than one."


Gave him a half smile, looking down into his mug again.

 

[sraes]

Watching how the ale and company mellowed the archer out Kade grinned to himself, pleased to have suggested coming here despite his earlier assertions. It was certainly doing the other man a world of good to be taken out of his head for a while. Hopefully the alcohol and a night's rest would give him a bit more perspective and he would come to some kind of terms with not assassinating Ysanus as he'd planned.


At least if he left with Kade, he knew that the other man wasn't going to turn around and make another attempt. And, as Daniel had pointed out, two people were safer than one out in the Outer Kingdom.


The barkeep stopped by and laid a new round out on the table in front of the small group and Kade lifted one in a lazy salute which Serna and Vox quickly took up with inebriated good cheer.


"Welcome aboard then, Daniel. The three of us are planning to head out in the morning just after first light, the two of us will split off around noon or so."


Returning the archer's small smile with another warm grin of his own, Kade took a decent drink of his ale and sat back to enjoy the rest of the night.

 

[Coward]

"First light, then!" He took another long drink, and then another.


Finally the mercs were gone away somewhere to collapse, and he was still there finishing an ale. He'd lost track of Kade, which did bother him slightly, since it turned out he really did want to walk to Laeyth with him. Still, he was very comfortable, and happy enough that he wondered why he'd ever tried to assasinate anyone. Best of all, it turned out to be the sort of tavern where, if you couldn't walk, they left you asleep on the bench rather than bothering to haul you out.


-----


"Well, is it him?"


Sid groaned, trying to bat away the candle someone was holding up to his face. As he did a hand caught his wrist, holding it in a too-hard grip.


"I think so, it's been a while. It's not like I was his friend, anyway." Annoyed, a vaguely familiar voice.


That was enough to cut through the sand filling his head. His eyes peeled open a sliver, until he was looking through his eyelashes. Two white masks hovered over him, with the Third Eye staring down on him from each. They were hauling him up by the collar, examining his face with eyes darkened behind the waving cloth. Over their heads he could see a third, apparently watching the door.


With relief Sid found his hand was already on his knife hilt. Getting mugged while drunk was a specialty of his, so he'd somehow developed this habit.


"Definitely him," said the one on the left, the one with the voice he couldn't place.


Without waiting to think too deeply about it Sid brought up the knife he was clutching, drove it indiscriminately into the the dark area behind a mask. He was not sober enough to try aiming it. Red blossomed across the white and the soldier fell back, screaming. The other swore, catching the knife wrist in his hand, smashed it down on the flagstone. Dimly Sid heard the knife skitter away under the tables, as pain shot down his arm. Shit.

 

[sraes]

The night was winding down after a few long hours of ale, though Kade mostly pawned his off on his companions - namely Daniel - so by the end of the night he was no worse for wear.


The same could not be said of the other three.


Serna was singing loud, off key tavern songs that would make even the most experienced mercenary blush like a virgin. Vox had turned in a sloppy giggling mess - honestly. Daniel was half way to passed out on the bench, though he still seemed to be drinking if much slower than before.


Amused, Kade herded the mercs towards the door to the tavern. They had a room in an inn nearby and he was going to make sure they got there before coming back to collect Daniel - he wasn't sure if the archer had a room booked somewhere but if not there was space in his own.


Wrangling two drunk mercenaries was no easy feat and by the time Kade made it back the tavern was dark and shut up for the night. Debating the merits of leaving Daniel to sleep off the ale on the tavern bench, he was just about to turn away when a muffled scream echoed out from the near empty tavern.


Throwing himself forward, Kade slammed through the tavern door, shoulder splintering the wood slightly as he bulled forward, sword already at the ready.

Instantly assessing the battleground with the ease of long practice Kade immediately dismissed one of the guards, bleeding heavily behind his mask he would be more liability then threat in a fight.


The one who'd been guarding the door had been thrown violently back by his sudden entrance - probably not seriously hurt, but Kade was already well past him and leveling his blade at the third guard's neck.



"I'd suggest walking away now."

 

[Coward]

Kade? it was an unreasonable relief to hear the deep voice, even though the soldier's grip on his wrists tightened. He had been thrashing but now went still, looking between the blade and the white-masked face above him. It still wasn't particularly easy to figure out what was going on, though the one by the door seemed to be down at least.


The one holding Sid's wrists looked up, staring at the blade. Swore again, though his expression was indecipherable behind the mask. Even if he'd been quick enough, he couldn't move his hands without releasing Sid.


"Walk away?" the muffled voice sounded aggravated. "He's a traitor and a fugitive, I suggest you walk away." but the eyes behind the mask flit down to the blade, back to his face, considering.


Coughing, the one by the door was slowly picking himself up, saber glinting in the candlelight. Meanwhile the one marked by the bloodied mask had sunk to his knees, letting out a low, continuous moan. The red trail spread down to his neck, and his hands hovered over the mask as if he were afraid to touch it.

 

[sraes]

"I see no traitors here, just my friend who has had a bit overmuch to drink. No one dangerous I'm sure." Kade reasoned easily, not a trace of doubt in his voice despite the bold faced lie.


His tone was patient, friendly even, but the tip of his blade never wavered in its place against the guards neck and the look on his face was cold. After a long moment, when it became clear there would be no peaceful resolution to this standoff, a dark smile flickered across the warrior's face, no trace of his earlier warmth to be found.


<em>To battle then.</em> Resting lightly on the balls of his feet, Kade tuned out the non essentials - injured man? Disregard. Daniel? Safe enough for now, disregard. Guard by the door? Drawing blade, priority.


Knowing that getting flanked would not be smart, Kade quickly moved to even the odds; in one smooth movement he spun, reversing his grip on his sword, and <em>threw </em>it at the guard by the door. It should have been a suicidal move at best, that sword was no where near a throwing weapon, but it pierced the man center mass and he dropped just as he'd gotten back to his feet.


Continuing the turn, he dropped down and swept his leg out at the remaining guard in a vicious kick aimed the man's knees.

 

[Coward]

Sid was staring at the one with the saber, a warning halfway out his mouth, when Kade's sword sprouted from the guard's chest. Well. For a second he stared dumbfounded at the pulse of blood, before trying again to pull his wrists free. The guard might have had a chance to avoid the kick, but holding a grown man down was no easy task, even if he was blind drunk. Kade's kick connected with a hard thump, and the guard let out a choked sound as the leg went out from under of him. Cursing he tried to rise again, saber half drawn.


Before he could think better of it Sid rolled off the bench and landed hard on the man's back, knocking him to the flagging. His fumbling fingers found hair under the mask and twined into it. With a grunt he pounded the head unceremoniously into the stone floor. It took an embarrassing number of tries, but the body under him went limp. Panting, his eyes crept up and met Kade's


"Th- thanks, again," squeezed his eyes shut at a sudden wave of nausea, groaning.


After another second he clambered to his feet, staggered hard. The room seemed to be rotating slowly, and he clawed at the edge of a nearby table to stay upright. As he did so a flare went off behind his eyes. Halfway between drunk and hungover, then. The best of both worlds. The last man had found his feet again, and seemed to be feeling his way towards the door by touch, sobbing quietly.


A shout rang outside the tavern, echoing through empty stone streets.

 

[sraes]

Feeling the kick connect solidly against the guard's leg, Kade threw his height behind it sending the man hard to the stone floors. He was well trained, though, and was trying to get back to his feet almost as soon as he hit the ground.


Kade stepped back so he'd have time to react to the guard's blade when he attacked - only to straighten when Daniel dropped onto his back with a thud that probably didn't feel good for either man. He watched the resulting struggle for a moment until it was clear that the guard was losing.


Jogging over to the guard by the door, he quickly checked that the man was dead - although surviving that much lost blood was nearly impossible - then planted a booted foot against a shoulder and pulled his sword from his chest with an ugly sucking sound. No more than a second later he was back at Daniel's side, giving his sword a cursory wipe down then re-sheathing it.


"Don't worry about it." Kade waved away his thanks absently, quickly looking him over as he staggered to him feet. He looked pale and was listing a bit where he stood trying to catch his balance - Kade thought it was just the alcohol still hitting his system, but he was a bit worried that the guards had got it a few hits before he'd arrived.


Catching the unsteady man by the arm, he tried to stabilize him a bit while running the fingers of his other hand through blonde hair searching for any bumps or bleeding. He wanted to get a better look but there was yelling in the streets already; he doubted they'd get the time to lick their wounds for a while yet.

"We're going to have to make a break for it."

 

[Coward]

Sid blinked, startled, but submitted to the inspection with only a slight wince. One hand fumbled at Kade's shoulder, using it to prop himself upright. He didn't think anything had hit him, but then who the hell knew? But eventually he seemed to be satisfied, or at least he stopped searching his head. He was saying something, but it took a while to sink in.


Wait, we? After another second a sudden desolation came over him - Kade was now involved, had killed city watch. Oh... shit. A jumbled apology was halfway out his mouth when the sounds of boots on cobble snapped him back to reality.


"One... one second."


Even hammered he missed the weight of the bow. Struggling not to tip over, he groped around for it under the tables, and with a staggering rush of relief his fingers found the familiar bulk. He pulled at the ties as they moved for the door, the cloth dropping away. The knife was gone - no helping that.


"I think -" squeezed his eyes shut for a split second. "Go East Gate, less chimera." he hoped - it had been a while. But the streets were narrow there, often too small for them to fit through.

 

[sraes]

Kade was pleased to not find any obvious contusions in his, admittedly, cursory search but he figured even if Daniel had been hit there wasn't much they could do about it right then anyway. It was past time to get the hell out of that tavern before whoever was trampling about outside decided to investigate the very obviously broken tavern door.


Perhaps he should have been a bit quieter about that, but the past is the past.



Letting Daniel step away, he kept an wary eye on the door for any intruders while the man groped about for something - the bow that appeared from under the table a moment later brought a quick grin to Kade's face.



"Can you even aim that thing right now?" He wondered, laughter bright in his voice even as he lead the way to the door he'd come in through. The sword was back in his hand by the time he was easing the door open - the sight of the splintered wood caused a dull throb in his shoulder where there was undoubtedly bruising from forcing it open.



"East Gate, got it." Easily accepting Daniel's superior knowledge of the city's layout, Kade paused just before striding out the half open door and glanced back at the blonde with a touch of worry. "Try and stay behind me, alright?"

 

[Coward]

Sid half-tripped over the guard by the door, casting a glance at Kade's sword. The blade glint red to the hilt in the candle-light. Then looked down at his bow, grimacing.


"I don't... I don't think so," squinting against the random motion of the room around him.


But he adjusted his grip anyway. Shooting while drunk was usually a bad idea - he'd tried - but he could still draw, and he could still get lucky if someone wandered into the line of an arrow. Better than nothing. He groped three times for the quiver before his fingers finally found an arrow, but once he did nocking it was an automatic motion.


He nodded at Kade, returning a wan smile to his easy grin.


"Alright, don't die."


Well, that was more morbid than he'd hoped, so he tried to fix it with a friendly clap on the shoulder. The warrior was possibly insane, but at least he seemed to be on Sid's side.

 

[sraes]

"Ah well, just try not to shoot me with it then." He replied, again noting how unsteady on his feet Daniel looked. He briefly wondered how much more he'd had to drink before passing out while Kade was out playing shepherd for the other mercenaries.


He waited a moment, listening through the doorway for more movement on the street outside, then looked to see if Daniel was ready to go. He had an arrow nocked - a good sign - even if he still looked like a strong breeze would send him ass over teakettle. He figured that was going to have to do for now, he'd just have to keep an eye on the archer and make sure he didn't end up on the wrong side of a sword while he was seeing everything in triplicate.


'A challenge.' he thought with perhaps an ill-advised amount of anticipation.



"I promise." The agreement tripped off his tongue; he knew better than to promise any such thing, truly, but he couldn't take it back now. He'd just have to not make himself a liar. "Let's go."



Stepping quickly over the threshold, Kade surveyed the area: seemingly empty but he felt... watched. Adjusting his stance slightly, he walked forward quickly in the direction of the East Gate and kept his eyes flitting about for any sign of movement. He knew someone was there, it was merely a point of seeking them out before being ambushed.


The softest rustle of cloth brought his eyes... there.


Not waiting for the guard to complete his thrust, Kade slipped past his guard as gracefully as a dancer and slammed the hilt of his sword into the man's temple. He dropped like a stone, out cold, and Kade just continued forward.

 

[Coward]

Sid didn't see the guard until Kade had already dealt with him. The white mask fluttered as the man fell, his saber skittering away across cobbles. Kade pushed on as if nothing had happened, and after a startled second Sid followed, heart pounding. He swerved unsteadily around the sprawled body, somehow managing not to trip over it.


Somehow they made it another few minutes without more trouble, and the streets grew closer around them, penants fluttering from the frames of what were market stalls during the day. Sometimes one of the posts would rush up towards Sid's face, and he'd have to bounce off it to continue, but they were still making good progress.


Maybe we'll actually get out of here. He pondered the idea, running a thumb over the fletching of his ready arrow.


"Do you -"


Behind him a shrill wail echoed between the high buildings, followed by the familiar clatter of many legs, the rasp of scales. Oh. Throwing a wide-eyed glance at Kade he drew, turning. The street was narrow, but not yet narrow enough. Further another wail answered, and then another.


The first burst into view a second later, spilling around the corner in a clatter of armored legs. The wide mouth hidden between it's forelegs gaped, palps clawing at the air as it charged.

 

[sraes]

The progress they were making was promising, but Kade still felt on edge. It almost felt like things were going too easily for them - surely if the guards back at the tavern had been tipped off and gone there specifically to capture Daniel others would have been told as well? Why hadn't there been more waiting on the streets for them?



Unless they had underestimated their opponent, thinking him alone and drunk which could have easily been the case. It still didn't sit right though.



Keeping the pace as quick as Daniel could manage, they made their way through the section of streets lined with stalls that stood silent and empty for the night. Perfect for an ambush but still no more of the city watch showed. Daniel's aborted sentence had him half turned when the sound - the same one he remembered from earlier - filled the barren street.



"Fucking chimeras." He muttered under his breath, turning to face the way they'd come. "We need to move faster."



Motioning for the archer to keep going past him and towards the narrower streets while he squared up to hold them off. The first chitinous beast was already rounding into view and charging forward, no longer the docile pets they'd been. Now they were hunters.



That was just fine by him, he was no one's prey.



Tip of his blade etching small figure-eights in the air as the beast drew closer, Kade waited - observing - until he was just beyond the range of the creature's claws and then he tucked forward in a quick forward roll and came up under the belly of the beast in a crouch. Angling his blade for maximum damage, he shoved up through the joints between the armor, throwing his full strength of his body behind the thrust.

 

[Coward]

Faster, right.





Easier said than done. Sid didn't argue, just staggered on in the direction Kade had waved in, heart pounding. He put out a hand to fend off the walls as he fell into some kind of run, but was unable to keep from glancing back at Kade. The warrior was crouched now between the scrabbling legs, a slew of black fluid raining pouring down around him from the torn underbelly. Well, shit. If he kept that up they definitely had a chance. The thing scrabbled in it's own ichor for a foothold before sagging against the wall of the alley, pale human torso heaving. But two more were rounding the corner now, and their shrieks echoed from unseen others all around.


"Run!"


Ahead of him a human shapes loomed out of the dark, single file as the sides of the street closed in. Moonlight flashed from the bright crescent of a saber. Sid let out a choke sound and almost toppled backwards, but somehow managed to stagger against the wall instead. His fingers clawed at the string, frantically pulling the arrow back to his ear.


It perhaps said something about him that he actually had a plan for shooting while drunk. The plan was: aim at the exact center of the body, don't get tricky and maybe you'll hit something. Somehow he remembered this well enough to put it into action, and the charging soldier slipped on the cobbles, going down heavy with an arrow in the shin.

 

[sraes]

Feeling the sword sink deeply into the chimera's underbelly, he cringed back briefly as char black fluid ran down his arms and hit his face in a flood. Blinking away the ichor from his eyes - now was not a good time to be blinded - he savagely twisted the blade in the beast then ripped it out, letting the dying creature slump off to the side quietly.


Quickly jumping away from the twitching creature, he stepped free of the growing puddle of ichor only to hear Daniel yell out. The sound of shrieking chimeras - much more than the two he could see - almost overpowered the word, but after a second it sunk in through the battle haze.



Run. Kade bolted.


He was halfway between the dead chimera and Daniel when the guard charged into sight and he knew he wouldn't make it in time to step in, he just hoped that the arrow Daniel lifted would find its' mark despite the alcohol buzzing through the archer's veins.


Luckily it seemed either luck or skill was on their side and the guard hit the floor, an arrow through his leg, an instant later. Not a moment more and Kade was reaching Daniel. He didn't stop, though, not with two chimera still on his tail and fuck knew how many more in the wings; instead he slowed just long enough to throw his left arm around the blonde's waist and run, practically carrying the man along beside him.


They wouldn't make it at Daniel's current stumbling pace.

 

[Coward]

He let out a yelp of surprise, half running and half dragged by Kade deeper into the alleys. Involuntarily his hand clutched at the warrior's shoulder as he struggled to keep upright. Behind them the screeching grew swiftly louder, accompanied by the frantic scrabble of claw on stone. Abruptly the walls around them constricted, and then they were in a stone staircase hemmed in by featureless red brick. In the dark Sid tripped, leaning heavily on Kade to keep from falling. Panting and staggering he clambered up after him, now forced to go single-file by the narrow passage.


He glanced back, in time to see the masked face of a chimera appear at the bottom of the stair. The hollow pits of it's eyes fixed on them from behind white cloth, and it's wail followed up the stair, reverberating shrill from the walls. It shoved forward, slender human hands clutching at the walls, front claws squeeling across rock as it tried to crawl in after them. It was stuck, though. The armored bulk of it's body wouldn't go any further, smashing against brick on either side. After another second it let out a final shriek, and the masked head snapped away, searching. With the other behind it it rapidly skittered out of sight, no doubt trying to find a way around.


"Almost there," Sid panted, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. He let out a low groan before continuing behind Kade, a hand resting on his shoulder. "There's... more open ground, but we could get there first."


Sure, why not? Wincing against the pain in his skull he groped for another arrow with his free hand, just in case his luck held out. The stair leveled into an amazingly tight sliver of a path between two buildings, bridged by laundry lines and cages filled with live poultry. For Sid this was something of a boon - he could actually brace himself against both walls at once and reach a decent speed.

 

[sraes]

Feeling Daniel grab onto his shoulder, Kade gripped onto the man's clothes as best he could hauled him closer to keep them both upright as best he could while they ran.


The sticky ichor on his arms didn't make the task any easier and honestly he's not sure how they managed to not trip over their own feet, but they made it to a narrow stairwell before being torn to shreds by chimeras so he wasn't about to question it.



He paused long enough for them to regain their balance when Daniel stumbled into him, then tightened his grip and pulled them a bit further along until they could no longer walk side by side. Releasing the archer, he spared a single glance back when the chimera reached the base of the stairs and stuck fast.



Flashing a quick, pleased grin towards Daniel he barreled on - making sure that he wasn't moving so fast that the other man lost his grip on his shoulder.



"Good. How are you holding up so far?" Kade asked, probably unnecessarily.


The way was cramped almost to the point of claustrophobic but he could work with that, even with his bruised shoulder roughly scraping against the wall from time to time, and it would keep any human attackers from getting the jump on them. There was certainly no room to hide for an ambush and they'd have to face Kade one on one if they came at all - not an enviable position to be in.


The tight alleyway eventually gave way to, as Daniel had said, more open ground. Kade could see they were nearing the edge of the city now with less building cluttering the way, which meant the should be able to slip away into the night and out of the Inner Kingdom - so long as they made it past this last stretch of terrain.



"Almost there, I think we beat the chimeras and I don't see any of the Watch yet but it won't take them long to catch up."

 

[Coward]

"Very well, thank you," rasped through clenched teeth. Actually Sid felt like curling into a ball and dying, but that wasn't time for that right now. And if he'd tried he suspected Kade would just pick him up and carry him. He pushed along with eyes half closed, staggered slightly as he groped for a wall that wasn't there.


Moonlight speared down between buildings that had gone from red to grey, jutting spines of twisted metal. They were almost out - they'd reached the part of the city built on the ruins of the old world. His feet kept slipping on the uneven concrete, so after a second of embarrassment he put an arm around Kade's shoulders again. Though, the rapid rotation of the world around him was already stabilising slightly. There was nothing like a midnight run for your life to sober you up.


He nodded at the assessment. The keening wail of a chimera split the night, but a fair way back. The streets were almost impassable for them, so they'd had to make a wide loop. Still Sid's heartbeat raced.


"They... won't follow too far."


He hoped. Sid may have been small-fry, the second son of a family that no longer existed, but they had just destroyed a good few of Ysanus' assets on the way out. Again he felt a pang of guilt at getting Kade into this, but it was too late now.


The buildings around here were huge, dark rectangles, but mostly hollow - the partially inhabited husks of an older city. Their footfalls echoed from concrete, and at dimly lit windows an occasionally face appeared, staring. Only the poor and desperate lived here - the unstable buildings occasionally collapsed, in a jumble of concrete and dusty bodies.

 

[sraes]

"Good because it doesn't look like there's real cover anywhere between here and the city border." Kade remarked to the obvious falsehood.


The space was a wide valley of cracked asphalt and broken concrete littering what were once wide roadways, the building looming overhead like half crumbled mausoleums to a not-so-distant past where such creations were possible. His grandmother had told him of such works, of places she'd lived in the time Before and the things they'd lost to hatred and anger in the final days.


Kade hadn't noticed how far away his mind had drifted until Daniel put an arm around his shoulders and drew him forcibly back to the present.



He resumed his former position, one arm around the slightly shorter man's waist and the other held ready with his sword as they picked their way across the broken landscape. The chimera still seemed a ways away, thankfully, but that didn't mean their human pursuers weren't closer to hand.



They didn't have the same size limitations as the chimera did after all.



There were certainly people here and Kade, having known a similar life to the ones they led, was sure at least one had gotten the idea the alert the guard in case there was a reward in it for them. "I hope you're right."

 

[Coward]

Sid grimaced. He was rarely right about anything. Above them a pale face darted back from a window, candlelight suddenly flickering out. He swallowed, but they managed another minute of silent walking, as the tension of their painfully loud footfalls slowly built. Even drunk the hair was rising on the back of his neck, and he gripped the bow in his free hand painfully tight, arrow still wedged between two fingertips.


They turned a corner, feet scrabbling over rubble and steel, and another. We're going to make it, he thought, suddenly elated, only to snap around at the sound of boots behind them. And ahead, ringing out in the wide streets, a sickening number. Pale silhouettes appeared at the corner, four of them, with sabers already drawn.


"Halt!" one yelled, voice rattling off the high buildings.


Sid didn't halt, only released Kade's shoulder, stumbling as he was forced to regain his own balance. His heart was hammering in his ears, but automatically the point of his arrow fell into place. The cams of his bow creaking as he drew, turning. Three behind. Shit.

 

[sraes]

The echo of their steps ringing off the buildings around them kept what little ambient sounds there were at bay, the silence surrounding them only making each footfall ring louder to Kade as he tried to keep his ears tuned for any movement around them.


The longer they went on without coming across their pursuers - he didn't have any illusions that they had given up the chase yet - the more tension seeped into him, after a moment he had to consciously make himself loosen his grip on Daniel before he accidentally bruised the man.


They'd moved further in then he had expected them to before the telltale sounds of armed guards closing in on them reached his ears.



Already they'd been cut off from both sides, the four guards ahead and three behind effectively blocking any means of simply escaping bar scaling some of the ruined buildings around them. He briefly toyed with the idea of telling Daniel to try that - the archer would probably be more use at a distance picking off guards, reliable aim or no - but he decided not to mention it.



The buildings were unstable and, still fairly unsteady on his feet, he'd be just as likely to fall as not.



"Take out as many as you can. I'll try and keep them off you." Back to back with the blonde, Kade looked over his opponents - the ones he could see anyway - and rolled his shoulders, loosening himself up in preparation. The guards were still a bit back from them, the roads here were long, but they would be upon them very soon.

 

[Coward]

Many as I can? Sid's face contorted.


"R... right."


Kade was under the illusion that his earlier shot had been something other than incredible luck. Well, he'd better hope it held up. The soldiers were closing quickly, but weren't charging at random - they were probably trying to all arrive at the same time. That would be bad. With the bright arcs of their sabers extended before them they paced each other, steadily closing the jaws of the trap. Shit, what if Kade dies for me? The thought made him wince, so he shoved it away, exhaling.


The point of the arrow ducked and wove slightly in front of his eyes. By a force of will he steadied on the center of the group in front, the mid torso of the exact middle man. Loosed. The arrow whistled past his cheek, and the guard on the far left toppled silently, black shaft projecting from his eye socket. The man next to him stared for a second before advancing, and Sid blinked, pleased. Well, at least they're standing close together. Kade was going to think he was some sort of prodigy. Fingers clutched for more arrows, wedged a second between his teeth before drawing again.