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Old 02-02-2022, 03:31 PM   #123
Stomoxys
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 213 since leaving The Homeland

We set off to the street were we would set the ambush. It was about five meters wide and 30 meters long, flanked by three storey buildings. It went roughly east-west and ended in larger streets at each end. We decided that Grogg and Wolfram, being the most noticeable, together with two of the mercenaries would hide in the wagon until Tivito entered the street and attack them in the back. Nuur-Karif and the rest of the mercenaries would take up position at the other end and block their escape. I would climb up on the roof of the building to the south, which had the flattest roof, where I could shoot down at anyone in the streets below.

Tivito, led by Ragon, would be coming from the north west down the street at the western end of the ambush street. Yana and Hylda would take up positions to the north of the ambush street where they could signal to Nuur-Karif that Tivito was approaching. A small side street near the western end of the ambush street would be useful to hide the wagon.

Just before Ragon left, we decided to use 'pistachio' as a code word. If any of us said it, the mercenaries would consider their mission accomplished and disperse. After Ragon had left, Nuur-Karif went to fetch the wagon. The drivers to be unwilling to help in the fight, as they were ordered to stay away from Tivito, but they would facilitate our escape.

After getting into position, we could only wait and watch the streets. The seemed almost abandoned with only a few apeoids passing by quickly. It took about 20 minutes before I saw Hylda signalling and two civilian apeoids appeared, followed by an armed group escorting a small, sturdy wagon. As they got nearer, I saw eight apeoids in the armed group. Five of them wore heavy armour and were carrying swords and shields. Two of them had lighter armour and carried bows and appeared to be elves. The last apeoid in the retinue was Ragon, who was sitting on the wagon with one of the armoured soldiers. What was more concerning was the civilians in front. One of them was an unknown female, but the other was Korro. As they got nearer, I noticed that Korro looked nearly catatonic and the female almost dragged them along.

As they reached the street, the female grabbed hold of Korro and hurried them along while the wagon slowed down to turn the corner. I considered if I should try to signal to Nuur-Karif, but decided against it. It would be difficult to signal without being noticed and it would be awkward if Nuur-Karif killed them and the female turned out to be an agent of Nulius. The soldiers walked two in front and two in the back while the archers flanked the wagon. By the time the wagon began to enter the street, the female and Korro had already reached the far end. However, I saw the female looking back around the corner. Nuur-Karif suddenly crossed the street to the female and they disappeared around the corner.

I had devised a new spell I wanted to try. By using the threads of energy to focus the light, it should be possible to magnify objects that were far away. This should make aiming a lot easier. Retreating from the edge of the roof, I formed the threads into a magnifying matrix and bound them in place. At first, I was not sure if the spell had worked or not, as everything appeared to shift and blur. However, after blinking a few times and relaxing, I was able to focus and could see the roof on the other side of the street in exquisite detail.

I sneaked back to the edge and the wagon had made it about a ten meters into the street. The archers were keeping a close look on their surroundings, while the soldiers in the back had taken up position at the western end of the street. Suddenly, a scream for help sounded from Nuur-Karif's end of the street and I turned just in time to see a bolt fly across the street, putting an end to the screaming. Something strange must have happened, because Nuur-Karif normally enjoys doing the killing themselves, but I did not have time to ponder it. Instead, I aimed and put an arrow in the back of one of the archers and they went down.

The street below erupted in pandemonium. The Tivito in front were rushing towards the screaming, while those in the back halted and turned when they heard our wagon charge the street towards them. When Grogg and Wolfram jumped out, the one furthest back held their ground, but they had been separated from the rest and were quickly overrun. On the other end of the street, Nuur-Karif and four mercenaries swarmed the two leading soldiers.

Below me, Ragon was able to occupy the soldiers that had caught up to the wagon, while the other ran over to the archer I had shot. Despite my arrow sticking out of their back, their armour must have saved them and they were able to get on their feet with the help of the soldier. This put the soldier right in my line of sight and with my amplified vision, I could see the blood pumping in the veins of their neck before fountaining in all directions when my arrow connected.

While the soldiers wore heavy armour covering most of their bodies, their throats were completely exposed. If I were to face cultists who liked nothing better than to stab their victims in the throat, I would make sure at least my neck were protected. Tivito must have known this, so I felt an increasing sense of worry as I grabbed another arrow.

Below me, Grogg and Wolfram were closing in on the wagon and Ragon had engaged the soldier in melee. The soldier I had shot was bleeding profusely and lying on the ground, but the archer I had shot had used some kind of spell that disturbed the air around them. When I tried to look at them, I was unable to focus and it almost looked like there were two archers blurring into each other. More worrying, they had clearly seen me and were starting to draw an arrow. From Nuur-Karif's end of the street, the female screamed that all would die.

I retreated back from the edge so the double archer could not see me and conjured up an image of myself sticking its head over the edge. A strange sound came from below, but no arrows, so I returned to the edge. Ragon and some of the mercenaries were closing in on the double archer, but to my surprise, the soldier I had shot was getting back on their feet. On their end, Nuur-Karif and the mercenaries had taken down one of the soldiers and the other one was surrounded.

Suddenly, sparks and smoke erupted below me. It formed a dense cloud, but I could just make out the other archer inside it. Either they had used some kind of spell to conceal themselves, or their spell had gone wrong. One of the mercenaries rushed into the cloud while Grogg and Wolfram cut down a soldier next to the wagon and Grogg began kicking at the wagon door. From inside, I heard a an apeoid shout "Run away, demon worshipers! You will all die!". They were answered by an otherworldly shriek coming from Nuur-Karif's direction and I turned to see Nuur-Karif jump sideways as if dodging something.
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