Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[Toogee]

Jam realized that Kozel was still holding back; she could be dead at any moment. She wasn't feeling so sassy at the moment. Feeling her options dwindle, the dancer had no choice but to comply. She moved behind Kozel as he prepared to advance on Eva. Yet she didn't settle in. Rather, Jam stayed crouched, preparing to leap off of Sonya as soon as she was close. There was no way she was going to sit there and watch Kozel kill everyone she knew. This was as close as she could get to her friends. It would be one of her few chances to escape safely. Not only that, but with Kozel without a hostage, everyone was free to fight (or preferably flee).

Jam tried to look to Eva in an attempt to communicate her intentions. They were probably still too far though.

[Nanami Touko]

"I know we're still it trouble but for Truth's sake, we beat you all, didn't we? Could you give us, even if it's not me, some fucking credit? I know I'm a hot headed idiot; there's a reason I don't do negotiations, but the rest of us aren't that stupid. I'm handing you over to Amon and Haythem, so they can do the rest of the talking, before I bury us in the hole I've dug." Carlos moaning over everything was starting to become a problem for her patience, almost tempted to listen to the Skotians and drop him. She didn't exactly care about the money, but she didn't run the group, so that felt like a pretty selfish decision to make.

There were more important things happening for that decision to happen. A sudden gust of wind from afar made Eva realize that Sonya was now plummeting straight for her. Great. Ushering Sasha forward, she hoped he'd make it over to Isis before Kozel got too close, because she really didn't want to do the talking with him, considering her idea of how the negotiations were supposed to go were that she'd toss Carlos and at him and he'd just give Jam back. She had a feeling it wouldn't be that simple.

[Ether]

Hmm... so the damage to the weapon was superficial at best, it seemed. It was unfortunate that the rider had been able to simply reload and be fine, but it seemed that's how things had played out. And with Sonya and the Neviskotian commander coming down, things were either about to get really bad, or they would exchange prisoners and be done with it. That'd be nice...

Either way, it wasn't time yet to put the rifle away.

[Phoenix]

Idiocy

That was a strange response, Carlos mused. If she was a self aware idiot, why was she so insistent on ... well, he supposed that made perfect sense now that he thought about it. Overconfidence, a lack of self control and myopia, these were definitely idiotic traits. He wasn't too keen on getting her hopes up regarding their chances in a fight against Kozel in either case. "You had help," he said irritably, "from Sonya, who was distracting my gunners, and from the ursaeans, who also had the bulk of my men tied up at the gate. Where's your help, now? Right, coming right at us at full speed and bringing Kozel with her." That wasn't all, of course. The wyvern knights were circling around and seemed to be falling into formation behind Sonya.

"Hold on," Amon cautioned Haythem, "they're not coming at us ... at least I don't think they are-" "We need to move just in case," Haythem said hurriedly, pulling back hard on the reins and urging Isis to come to as close to a full stop as she could. With just seconds remaining before Sonya blew past them, their only hope of not being in range of Kozel was to lose as much altitude as they could, as quickly as they could. The move took Amon by surprise, nearly causing him to lose his balance. "Easy, you've still got three people back here, Haythem!" Haythem was well aware of that, and of one passenger in particular that he didn't want to see taken along with Jamilla. They would just have to hold on and endure the swift maneuvers for now. He wasn't taking any chances with a man like Kozel.

Cruelty

<"Commander,"> Sonya winced, <"can we please just talk with them? They must have been attacked first.">

<"I should hope so,"> Kozel gave Sonya an annoyed look, <"they have something of mine. You already ran out of time to have your little talk, and even the lieutenant couldn't get them to put Carlos down for us.">

<"We took a hostage, first. Commander, please,"> Sonya pressed, realizing she was running out of time.

<"At least she'll live if she behaves, now drop it, and focus on not letting anything get through.">

[Mercakete]

At the pegasus knight's warning, Norbert stepped away from where he'd been leaning, leaving his poleaxe where it was and drawing one of his maces with his good arm. It was better to be lightheaded, bleeding and fighting than lightheaded, bleeding and resting when an enemy was coming at you, in Norbert's opinion. As for the hand attached to his bad arm, he rested that on his other mace. If nothing else, it gave the illusion that he could fight with it if he wanted to.

When Darcey called for bows, Norbert stopped thinking about advancing just yet and decided to hang back. He'd go forward with the other melee combatants after the first volley. As it turned out, though, no shots would be fired. The first one to step into view was none other than Doran. Not Norbert's favorite Ursaean in the world, but not necessarily an enemy. Following him was an even friendlier face -- which was saying something, given that this face belonged to an assassin. And following Fizza was...a pegasus? She must have recovered it from the earlier battle. It sounded like she had a plan, too.

"For what to work?" Norbert asked. If they had to get moving quickly -- which he assumed they did -- then it wasn't worth it to lean back up against anything at the moment or continue with the vulnerary. Besides, if any of the guardsmen was an actual healer, they could save the salves for others.

[Ether]

Well, here they came. Angelica wouldn't know whether she'd have a clear shot at the Commander until Sonya leveled out, though as this point, having taken her first, they were at least aware of her presence. That would make it unlikely that she'd get another, especially with the Commander coming down.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya was very glad she had been hanging onto Isis tightly or else that sudden drop may have been the end of her.

"Look, I don't wanna leave Jam behind but if we can't do somethin' soon we might have to fly away from here. No point in all of us dyin'," Nadya called out. Ain't gonna be popular, but someone had to say it.

--

Liam frowned at Malik's statement, but elected not to remark on it. "I understand that we may be concerned about the others, but they are beyond our reach right now. It will only frustrate us if we focus on things we cannot change."

[Nanami Touko]

"We'll... We'll have help! Things always work out for the heroes!" Gods, Eva sounded stupid... She even knew that, at this point. And with Kozel driving straight for her, with Sonya in tow, she couldn't quite make it over to Haythem and Isis in time. She really didn't want to do any more of the talking... Ugh, this was all starting to feel like a huge mistake. Should she just drop Carlos and run? But then, how would they get Jamilla back...? It was terrifying, but she made Sasha halt, awaiting the captain. At the very least, she didn't feel like smart talking him would get her anywhere.

[Phoenix]

Hearing Things

"I thought you people were sellswords, not 'heroes'," Carlos said, bewildered by the comment. "What kind of fantasy land are you living in?"

Sonya passed over them, but Haythem wasn't relieved yet, as the wyvern knights were following in her wake. Fortunately, they seemed more interested in discouraging attacks by looking vigilant, than actually launching any attacks of their own, at least for the moment. "Let's keep our distance," Haythem began uneasily, "but we shouldn't just run away, altogether unless we have to." A mental note he made for himself, was to get as high as possible, so that they would start with a significant lead on the 'skotians if this really did turn into a battle and they were left with no other choice but to flee.

Sonya couldn't wait any longer; if she didn't do something right now, anything, a real battle was going to break out. Most if not all of her comrades would make it out alive, but the mercenaries wouldn't be nearly so fortunate. She quickly spread out her wings to catch as much air as she could. She pulled her head back as she did so Kozel and Jamilla wouldn't simply fall off, though the former had anchored himself in place through his magic, regardless. <"Commander,"> she called up insistently to the man.

<"This is close enough, anyway,"> Kozel said. They were too close, now, and he was about to send his spear flying. Once he got off an attack, there was no going back. Both sides would be fighting to the death.

<"Commander, wait!"> Somehow, for some reason, Kozel froze. Sonya couldn't see what was happening, but she could feel his posture shifting to something more rigid and unrefined. The energy he was gathering to propel the spear was beginning to waver as if he was no longer attentive. <"C-commander?"> Sonya said, narrowly above a whisper, almost afraid to bring his attention back to the here and now.

<"What in the name of the Emperor was that?"> Kozel muttered under his breath.

Feasible

While Darcey began squinting at the pegasus behind Fizza, the latter smiled at Norbert and said, "For your diversion, of course~"

"Hey, that's my pegasus," Darcey said once she was certain. "What do you need my pegasus for, anyway?"

"This one's the most cooperative out of the bunch, so I figured she'd give me the fewest problems when I go up there to pester those wyvern knights." Of course that's what Fizza was going to do ... "We managed to get one more of the peggies back, so we're working with six in total for now, though I'll be using this one." She smiled innocently when Darcey ran her through with a sharp glare. "Relax, I'll get her back to you, eventually."

"Eventually ..." Darcey clearly wasn't convinced. At the same time, she wasn't sure if she should object to the idea or not. Her pegasus was amiable enough to let anyone skilled enough ride her, which was convenient for whatever Fizza was scheming, now. It was also the reason that the bandits managed to get her and a few of the others working for them. It was a serious embarrassment for her as a soldier. There was little she could do about it right now, though.

Testing Testing

"That's fine by me," Malik murmured, "I was already frustrated."

Joanna's expression changed, and she began to look more resolute. She slowly closed her eyes as she sought out the scouting party, again. "I still have to find some way to reach them. I don't know if it's possible, but if I don't try, we'll never get a hold of them." Her thoughts shifted toward the confrontation she'd seen unfolding before. She wanted to see what was happening, now. She needed to see what was happening now. The situation seemed to be teetering on the edge last she saw, and she had to know whether the first definitive shot had been fired. That was when the scenery returned; the horizon was nothing but green stretching down toward a distant walled city. Whomever's eyes she was sharing was traveling at breakneck speed toward something. She could see Isis and her passengers suddenly drop, though no one looked injured, and they quickly disappeared from view altogether. That was when Joanna saw Sasha, with Eva and Hoshi on top of him, and Carlos dangling below like a souvenir the wyvern couldn't help but take with them.

Suddenly, things began to slow down, and Joanna realized that this time, she wasn't seeing through the eyes of the dragon, but rather the eyes of someone riding on top of her. She could see the greaves and sabatons of the man whose sight she was sharing, and knew right away that he was for all intents and purposes, an enemy. He said something that didn't register right away, and then out of the top right corner of his eyes, Joanna saw a spear coming into view. It didn't take long for her to conclude that he was preparing to throw it, and the only targets were Sasha and her passengers. This was it, this was that definitive act she had been worried about. She didn't know how to warn Eva, and she knew she was out of time to move on to anyone else, anyway. There was no time left.

"STOP!!!" Joanna reached out with both hands, and Malik leaped to his feet in an instant. He instantly realized that the danger wasn't anywhere near them, but rather, with the scouting group. Something terrible was about to happen, assuming it hadn't already. Joanna was silent for a long moment, almost frozen. Her eyes were still closed, but she still looked to be puzzled by something. Malik resisted the urge to ask her what was going on, figuring her answer would be unsatisfactory no matter what the news was. It was better to wait until she was out of her trance and could go into greater detail, he decided.

Joanna slumped back down and her arms slowly fell to her sides. Her jaw had dropped slightly, she had just begun to break out into a sweat, again, and even with her eyes closed, she looked as if she'd discovered something amazing. "I ... think he heard me."

[Toogee]

Sonya stopped, causing Jam to nearly lose her footing. She was forced to sit back down to keep on. It didn't matter because she was nowhere near jumping distance to either of her flying allies. Strangely, Eva also stopped. Were they actually going to negotiate? That thought quickly diminished once Kozel pulled out his spear. This was it then. He was going to kill Eva and everyone else she traveled with. There wasn't anything Jam could do without Kozel immediately retaliating.

Yet, he stopped. It seemed he was distracted. It gave enough time for Jam to do something. She didn't care what her captor ended up doing to her. Even if Kozel got what he wanted, she doubted he'd let her live anyways. Everyone there was willing to risk death to get her back except Nadya. They were much more than some group of random mercenaries. Jam was willing to do the same, or at the very least, risk becoming a permanent captive of the Neviskotian Empire.

"RUN!" Jam screamed as loud as she could. "HE'S GONNA KILL YOU! LEAVE ME AND RUN!!!"

She kept screaming for her team to flee until Kozel made her stop.

[Ether]

Without a clear shot to be taken, and Kozel nearly throwing his spear again, Angelica didn't have much choice but to close in on ground zero, hoping to intercept the weapon if he happened to use it, not sure why he hadn't the first time, but not willing to waste the opportunity.

[Nanami Touko]

So there she was, staring down death, as Sonya flew in and Kozel readied his spear. She'd have to make the perfect block to stop that thing from skewering her and Hoshi, but even if she did, Eva had a feeling that it would knock her straight off Sasha from the force alone. Swallowing hard and preparing herself for what might've been her last moments, Kozel froze, and Jam started screaming. But no amount of screaming would get her away from him, at this range. She needed to take this moment to clear anything up and try to make the trade work, while she had the chance.

"<C-Commander Kozel!>" she stuttered out, making sure she was loud enough to be heard. "<I was n-not trying to fight, your lieutenant, I was... Just, bringing Carlos back, t-to work out a trade. He's right here! We just want our friend back, so... We don't really care about the bounty!>" This was her last chance for something like this. As a side note, she almost felt like smirking, at least to Carlos. Something had stopped Kozel, like she'd said! See? Th-Things always work out for the heroes...

Edited February 14, 2016 by Snake Mom

[Mercakete]

When Fizza said that Darcey's pegasus was the most compliant of the captured pegasi, Norbert began chuckling. "Tamed the wild right out of her, huh?" he teased. Then, he asked Fizza, "But in all seriousness, how well can you fly a pegasus?"

Really, he wasn't sure if Fizza was the best rider for this job. Sure the woman was talented, but as far as he could tell, she worked best on her own two feet. It was something else entirely to rely on your mount's agility, not to mention understanding how the creature in question moved and how to compliment that with your commands and how you moved in conjunction, yourself.

[Phoenix]

Voices

No, it wasn't the captive that had sounded off in his head, Kozel realized; her voice was different from that one. The wyvern rider he'd been looking to take down first started pleading to him almost immediately, and in neviskotian, no less. Her voice didn't match the one he'd heard, either. There was no point in standing there looking confused, so he pushed the thought away and focused on the situation right in front of him. <"No bounty?"> He didn't quite buy that given the fact they had made sure to grab Carlos before they left. What was far more likely, the imperial commander suspected, was that his little insurance maneuver still had them on edge. They didn't think he had any honor and would kill their friend on a whim, didn't they? <"Alright, then. Let's see if that's the case."> Kozel's gaze shifted to Lieutenant Karla as she passed overhead. <"Go pick up Carlos."> He received an affirmative nod and then turned slightly toward Jamilla. "Wait," he said, pointing a stern finger at her.

Fizzable

"Not as well as a wyvern," Fizza admitted easily, "but I'm not asking someone else to go up there and keep the 'skotians occupied for ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Darcey leaned back, "how are you going to get away?" What she really wanted to know was how Fizza was going to get her pegasus out alive, but that was a decidedly less thoughtful way to express her concerns with the idea.

"That should hopefully be enough time for you to get out of here," Fizza shrugged. "You'll have to take the main road until you're past the minefield, though." That was directed more at Norbert, Doran, and the rest who had no choice but to travel on foot to escape. Fortunately, with no more bandits guarding the approach, they could use the main path to escape the fort without having to having to pass through the mines. "It should be clear, but stick to the edges of the trees to try to go unnoticed."

"You're insane ..."

[Mercakete]

Well, at least she had some flying experience. Still, flying a wyvern was different from flying a pegasus. Just looking at the two creatures would tell you that. And if she was more used to wyverns, Norbert was a bit worried about the woman falling back on wyvern-riding reflexes. Not worried enough to deter her purely based on that, though. Rather, he had a whole compilation of things he was unsure about, one of which was just how quickly he'd be able to move compared to the others on his own. He also thought that Fizza would be the best one to guide everyone through the minefield. He, himself, didn't know exactly where it began or ended, after all. But really, when it came down to it, the better rider should be the one to divert the wyvern knights' attention, and he didn't know anything about how practiced Fizza was just off of a comparison to her ability to ride wyverns.

Sighing a little, Norbert informed, "Well, if it's not wanting to ask someone that's stopping you, it doesn't have to. I don't know anything about your experience riding, but you know some of mine. Do you think I'd do better distracting them than you on a pegasus? Because you know the minefield better than the rest of us and you're faster than I am on your feet. And I have experience making sure that pegasi make it out of combat alive."

Edited February 14, 2016 by Mercakete

[Toogee]

Jam stayed quiet, though she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. She was finding it hard to believe that Kozel's "kill 'em all" directive was suddenly ended by...whatever Eva just said. She hoped Eva knew what she was doing.

[Nanami Touko]

"<Yes! No bounty. I just... Grabbed him because he seemed important. I'm kind of an idiot, sir...>" No point lying about it, and she wasn't in any position to make any demands with his spear that close and ready to fly. Eva had Sasha fly only a few feet up, holding out Carlos for Karla to take. She almost ended up scowling down the lieutenant, but that wouldn't make things better, so she averted her gaze. Things were going to be fine, they were just going to trade and go on their merry, murderous way-- "Huh?" Wait? Wait for what? "<Is something wrong?>" Please just give me Jam, we're so close...

[Phoenix]

Exchanging Prisoners

<"Aside from one of my operations being ruined by the locals and some mercenaries?"> Kozel said drly, <"No, not at all.">

Once Karla was close enough to receive Carlos, she said, <"I am exchanging both prisoners. No one goes near the commander."> Her slightly bitter tone seemed to suggest that she had meant to explain this sooner. <"Drop him on,"> she instructed with an distrusting gaze as she kept her own wyvern relatively steady below Sasha.

"Told you, didn't I?" Carlos murmured, "their way or the bloody way."

<"Thank you, commander,"> Sonya quietly said, trying not to draw too much attention.

<"You're just fortunate the lieutenant has a point. Letting Carlos run free makes managing things easier, but it also draws too much attention. We'll keep him on a shorter leash from now on. You too, Sonya.">

Diversion and Evacuation

"You'll be taking the route the bandits use, so you shouldn't have to deal with any mines," Fizza assured Norbert. It was normally guarded, which was what forced them to go through the mines in the first place. With the bandits scattered, and the element of surprise no longer needed, it was theoretically safe to simply use the route they did coming to and fro. There could be other dangers aside from mines and wyvern riders, but Fizza was hoping they could at least handle a bit of resistance if they had some of the remaining guardsmen with them. "This has less to do with riding and more to do with keeping their eyes up here," she added, pointing two of the fingers on her hand at each of her eyes, "so don't worry so much."

She glanced at Darcey for a moment. "Don't you worry, either. I like pegasi, especially this one; I'll get her back to you ... maybe not today if plan A doesn't pan out, but eventually."

"And I'm supposed to tell my commander this? He's going to get me issued another pegasus, just like the others," Darcey frowned. "He'll also put out a warrant for your arrest. It's not like we can just let people borrow our pegasi."

"Well we definitely don't want Bert getting arrested, again; tell him a week, tops," Fizza said. The pegasus knights wouldn't be back to full strength before then anyway, so a missing pegasus, the most manageable one of the lot, no less, wasn't going to change things too much.

"Hey," Doran's gaze narrowed at Norbert, looking neutral, but otherwise annoyed, "what happened? I didn't see you out there with the rest of the mercs, so how'd you get so messed up?"

Alarm

"What's wrong?!" Greta came up to the wagon and peered inside. Nothing looked to be quite out of place, though the scene as a whole made her wonder if Malik wasn't trying to make a grab for the emblem. That didn't make sense, but there was little else for her to go on, at first.

"I'm sorry, I ..." Joanna paused, resisting the urge to open her eyes. She leaned forward and placed her fingers gently on the wagon's floor boards. "Something terrible was about to happen and I think I ... I hope I managed to stop it.

[Mercakete]

Norbert loosed a relatively quiet, but blatantly frustrated sigh before redirecting his attention to Doran. "You remember the plan, don't you?"

It may not have been entirely clear that he was referring to the plan they'd had for freeing the Ursaean pegasus knights, but that was all he was willing to say about that for now, if he could help it. There were more important things to focus on.

So, he returned his attention to Fizza. She did have a point about getting arrested, and she probably had more experience with diversions than he did. There were still the other points -- that is, skill with actually riding the mount, and that Norbert, himself couldn't even walk smoothly right now -- but it wasn't worth bringing them up again. He'd just have to do his best not to slow anyone down. "I guess we'll just have to trust you to do your job, then. Good luck." He paused briefly before adding, "And don't go back on that promise -- bring my sister's pegasus back safe."

After that, he asked Doran, "You still have a healer with you? From what I heard, the other mercenaries are already gone, including our staffers."

[Nanami Touko]

"...Tch." Eva had a few things she wanted to say, but a combination of her fear of Kozel after his horrifying display, and an impressive amount of her mustered self restraint, kept her from saying them. She just looked away and let Sasha drop the man onto the lieutenant's wyvern, hoping that there wouldn't be any further complications in getting Jam back. She did her best to hold her scowl onto the treeline, not on either 'Skotian. They'd probably use any excuse to meddle with this.

[Ether]

Well, this was as close as she was going to get. If Angelica came any closer, she'd lose line of sight on Kozel, which was the worst thing that could happen at this juncture. Her rifle would be pretty well useless here, so she put it away as she readied herself, eyes trained on Kozel's spear, keeping her focus sharp. If he were to fire that thing, she'd not have very long to intercept it and try to stop the attack, so she couldn't allow herself to be distracted.

[Toogee]

Jam watched as Carlos was handed over without any problems. She eager to get back to her friends before anything else went wrong.

"OK, you got your guy," Jam said to Kozel. "Now it's my turn, right?"

The dancer had spent most of her sass. She was taking this seriously, as this could all go sideways at the slightest wrong move.

[Phoenix]

Prisoner Grab

"No offense," Carlos said as he landed behind Karla on the wyvern, "but I hope we don't run into each other, again, if only because that means you're probably picking another fight. It's been ... an experience, though." Karla had her wyvern glide a short distance beneath Sasha before turning and circling back around toward Sonya.

"That's right," Kozel nodded at Jamilla. He took a moment to sit down and held his spear over his shoulder. "Do yourselves a favor and disappear. I don't normally let people off so easily, not even mercs unless they're worth buying."

Carlos almost managed to try and chat up Karla but decided not to. Her aura was more menacing the Kozel's at the moment, which meant there was absolutely nothing he could say that would get an amiable response. It was just better to see what Kozel had planned for him and the tattered remains of his forces.

<"Sonya, just hold him with your paw for now,"> Kozel instructed the dragon. "One more question before I send you back, though. Where does one get such a massive wyvern as that one?" he nudged his head toward Isis, who was keeping her distance for the moment.

"Whoa," was all Carlos managed before Sonya snatched him up from the saddle with her claws as Karla passed by. Karla followed up on this by pulling up and flying up to Sonya's head in a semi-loop. "A little warning, next time?!"

Uplifting

Darcey smiled faintly at Norbert's words. She figured the only ones who would care about her pegasus being lost were the other pegasus knights from Ursaea.

"So you were helping our pegasus knights," Doran concluded. "I'm glad someone was, at least. We couldn't find them anywhere after the bandits started falling back. I was starting to worry."

"We had some help," Darcey grimaced, "but we'd practically gotten ourselves out by the time help arrived. So, thanks for the distraction, I guess?"

"You're welcome, I guess ..." Doran shrugged as one of the healers made his way past and over to Norbert. At the same time, one of the guardsmen near the entrance rounded the corner with a pegasus in tow. It was one of only two pegasi they had managed to rein in; the other two were still running around somewhere. Rizen was still off somewhere as well, but it was a good start, especially considering that they thoroughly outnumbered the 'skotians on mounts at the moment.

"What happened?" the healer winced at Norbert's arm wound as he tried to locate any others.

"I'll be by the entrance," Fizza said as she began leading Darcey's pegasus away, "so let me know when you're ready to move, and we'll get started."

[Nanami Touko]

"All I hope if we run into each other again is that we're not kicking your ass once more." It almost felt bad to say bye to him. He was rather charismatic; perhaps why Kozel wanted him around. Almost felt like if they'd made it out of there, he'd have been worth more than a bounty, however much that had been. With a shrug, she let it go. There was no bashing her way out of this one.

Disappear, huh? "Wouldn't that just be swell," she said to herself, remembering that they were, or at least probably were, still being chased by the Wrathites. "Alright, so... Just hand her over. Or get your woman to. Or something. I know you still don't want us getting closer."

Edited February 16, 2016 by Snake Mom

[Mercakete]

Well, that wasn't quite what happened, nor really what the plan had been. What really happened wasn't as impressive as what seemed to be assumed, but he still thought it may have been better to set that particular record straight. So, Norbert responded to Doran with, "I'll tell you the story later, if you still want to hear it."

He hoped that the urgency to keep on task at the moment was self-evident. So, that said, he belted the mace he'd drawn and grabbed his poleaxe in preparation for their escape. To the healer, and indicating the gash on his arm, he replied, "A swordsman got a good cut on me from the side." Then, temporarily leaning his poleaxe against his arm, he pointed to where he'd been shot. "I pulled an arrow out from here." Then, gripping his polearm again, he indicated his side. "And while I was keeping the archer out, the swordsman stabbed my back."

It wasn't terribly difficult to tell about where the injuries were, considering the trails of blood that led to them, but the armor did obscure their specific locations. Though the rider was glad to be receiving treatment, he also hoped that he could get patched up quickly. The other wyvern knights were gone, but who knew how long that would last? There was also that other concern: Norbert really wasn't sure if he could run in his condition. He was lightheaded just standing... I wish Riz was here. She's probably off somewhere in the woods right now, though. I'll just have to try to keep running straight... Don't want to get dizzy and fall onto a mine or something.