Take the time to scry ahead

Quickly surveying your surroundings so that you know you are relatively safe, you weave a divination Pattern, a small mobile sensor that will serve as your scout.

Flying as fast as a bird for a couple hundred yards, the translucent purple orb transmits what it sees to you: after a turn of the road, you see a large coach and its escort of twenty riders beset by brigands - but something is off... It is highly suspicious that a mob of highwaymen could be so numerous and so well-equipped - they couldn't steal enough from travellers on these roads to feed themselves or even pay for their shining new gear... It is probable that they are actually well-trained mercenaries sent here to intercept the coach - and capture or kill its passengers.

In the blink of an eye, your quick mind has analyzed the situation: the escort is outnumbered and despite their obvious skill, they will not make the difference. The coach driver is dead, riddled with arrows, and the horses have been shot down too.

Even at full gallop, you will not reach the site of the battle until all the soldiers are dead, but by then the mercenaries' ranks should be pretty much thinned. It should be an easy victory if you played your cards right. You could also wait some more until your spell expired, which would come in under a minute. Or you could avoid the battle and not give a damn.