An uneven ambush

How well does the plan work?

How Much [2] Less than expected

The wagon rumbles to a halt, a little too far from the intended ambush spot. Lorkan growls in frustration.

The defenders form a loose ring around the cart, daring any unseen attackers to come to them.

“What’s wrong?” One Eye whispers.

“They know something’s up!” Blond groans

“Fuck it.” Lorkan shakes his head, “One chance, we do it for the village.”

What village?

Lavorra wonders, but it is too late - the men at her side charge from the brush, followed a moment later by their comrades on the opposite side. She scrambles up, following more cautiously.

How well does the bandit **** proceed?

How Much [2] Less than expected

The attack is a frantic mess, the bandits crashing against the guardians in disarray, weapons swinging desperately on both sides. Lavorra watches One Eye drop to the ground. His head staved in by a vicious mattock. She does her very best not to feel glad about that.

Two of the guards come at her, cudgels flailing. Up close, she sees that their faces are tattooed with a series of interlocking triangles, and their eyes have a hazy, distant look to them. But they move quickly.

She ducks, and catches a blow with her shield, then feints and swings with it, slamming the metal into the first attackers face, dropping him like a stone.

The other swings again, catching her pauldron, and she staggers. But he overreaches, and she brings down the pommel of her sword on his head, knocking him clean out.

She has certainly turned the tide, that’s for sure. Another thing to try not to feel glad about.

The bandits are only just making ground, as the “monks” pull back around the cart, the riders having joined the melee now. Half of them are dead, but so are several of the bandits, and others are wounded.

Lavorra finds herself face to face with the biggest of the “monks”, a bare-chested hulk with greyish skin and those same vacant eyes. She braces defensively as he hefts a two-handed maul.

He swings for her, and instinctively, Lavorra strikes back.