Battle Prep.

You and Claire just stand there ready in the defensive position. You didn't want to charge into the army, you wanted to try to stall as much time as possible to allow Ashe to get further and further towards safety. Both Claire and yourself could still outrun a lot of these guards if needed since they are dressed more cumbersome and that would obviously slow them down. To your awareness too, you don't see any horses or anything that would be able to keep up with you. Sure, they could fire arrows, but you were hoping none of the infantry that were marching your way actually wielded bows and arrows.

Another minute goes by as the group of Rathkin forces gets closer and closer.

"Hmm..." you start to second guess yourself "Maybe...maybe we should get out of here?"

Claire stays quiet which causes you to look over in her direction, she's breathing a little heavier now and you can see her eyes roaming back and forth across all the soldiers. "They captured me last time and they wanted me alive then. If for some reason they capture me again, I'd suspect the same thing."

"And me?" you chuckle at your sister

"Yeah...sorry about your bad luck brother, you're as good as dead." she sticks her tongue out at you. "But...you did fight for Rathkin in Nillix so maybe they'll spare you as well if things go south?"

"Maybe...although I did just butcher how many Rathkin warriors?"

"Ahhh, Touché" she smiles again "We can probably still get out of here if..."

The heavy sound of feet against the ground suddenly is coming from behind you. A trap. A flank.

"Huh?" it causes both of you to turn around, seeing another wave of Rathkin soldiers coming out from behind the last remaining buildings before the exit to Rathkin. "Oh fuck..." you can only grumble out as you're now cut off from any type of escape.

"Well...this isn't good." Claire says in your direction as her body slowly turns in circles, viewing her surroundings, watching the warriors flank her position while even more warriors still come from the front.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." you mumble out "Should we just surrender and hope for the best?" you question "What do you think? No way we can win against these odds?"

"I don't know, Darien." Claire's voice had a touch of defeat to it "I honestly don't know..." It was the first time in a long time you've heard that tone in her voice. That hesitation, that sadness, that loss.

Another minute goes by, the warriors behind you stand there ground, not closing in on any distance, just holding their ground. "Why aren't they coming towards us?" you mumble again which is followed by silence from Claire.

The two of you are constantly scanning the area, holding your weapons, ready for whatever will come next. After another couple dozen steps forward, the remaining Rathkin warriors ahead of you finally come to a halt. You're now completely surrendered in a circle by Rathkin warriors, staying about 50 feet back from the two of you. They hold their position for what feels like an eternity, no words shed at all, just waiting, wasting precious time.

"Claire...." you grumble to your sister once more "I don't know what to do. Why aren't they attacking us? What are they waiting for?"

"I...I don't know...Darien, I really don't know." she's biting the inside of her cheek trying to distract her.

"What the fuck are they planning on doi..." and that's when you hear it. That terrifying ear numbing sound echoing from the distance behind the Rathkin warriors. The sound of a sword slicing along the ground letting loose a loud, piercing squeal of steel cutting into the rocky ground. It causes your body to shiver in displeasure as you remember that sound distinctly. The sound still plays in your head every few nights in your dreams. That sound, one of the last things you heard before your Claire was taken from you. Your breathing gets more sporadic, your mouth gets dry, a droplet of sweat rolls from the side of your forehead.

The monster is coming...