After another hour of continuous concentration and pressure Mikael then had done another circulation. But the result was him being so exhausted he fell right to sleep, not even talking with René a last time about guarding or shifts.
He was awoken, gently shaken by him saying:" Your turn, only around 4-5 hours left." before laying on the ground.
Mikael in his sleepy state needed some seconds to adjust. He went outside their little shelter, the cold air and darkness of the night enveloping him. Only the moon and its sparse light illuminated the surrounding. As Mikael sat there, letting his eyes travel over the area, he felt his mana in this quietness more vivid then previously.
'Just a single exercise with René and I got so much done. Maybe I can try and train some more.'
He thought,but also knew he needed to stay vigilant.
'I have to be able to cast spells while maybe moving, or having to blend out distractions. I can't have my eyes closed all the time.'
Wide open and still watching, Mikael began to concentrate. Before, René helped not only by making it easier for him to grasp the mana, but the shelter, how crudely it was, made things also more convenient. Now no blanket prevented the Gras from sticking through his Pants, no cover stopped the wind from messing with his now a bit too long hair. The smell of burning wood, crackling and insects all around only got more intensive.
'It is really difficult.' Mikael noticed, as he just couldn't enter his consciousness as easily as before.
'Not only is it amplified, the noises mess with my imagination. What use comes along when the river begins to bubble from heat?' he looked at the died down fire, still some embers rising occasionally.
Then, as he once again attempted to enter a semi-meditative state, he saw in the distance movements. First it was fleeting, so he thought maybe it was a animal, a deer or something similar.
'Considering tee size it also could be a wild horse or an Parstich.'
He remembered that René told him on their way that a quiet popular farm animal of considerable size was home in this area. Size a bit taller than a man, with short and pointy feathers, resembling an chicken but also an ostrich.
'Maybe I can catch it for breakfast? How he described its meat should make it a delicacy.'
Already half arisen, suddenly another, similar shadow hushed by the trees, not emerging again.
'This isn't how animals behave.'
He grew more alerted, already his weapon in hand and ready to wake up René.
His eyes were fixated on the spot where he saw the shadows, so when they once again moved towards his position, only a few hundred meters away, Mikael instinctively began to watch them, taking a few steps forward, before unsure of his actions after that.
Like a signal his body told him something was amiss.
'When I can see them, they also should see me. Then why...'
Before his mind reacted, the body did. By only centimeters a arrow missed his chest, hitting him on the shoulder.
"Ouch, that hurts! Dammit!" he cursed.
Due the impact he got send to the ground, now half laying, half sitting.
The arrow was shot from a closer range, but from his dead spot so as Mikael watched the two approaching persons, he got hit.
"René, wake up, enemy attack!" Mikael called, and not even ten seconds later René came out the shelter, his sword in hand and searching for their foes.
"Just had a nice dream. What is the matter, who is dumb enough to approach?" he asked, seeing the arrow sticking from Mikael's shoulder. The target himself just grasped the shaft, slightly pulling. The projektile easily got removed, and only a bit of blood was on the tip. The sun began to rise, so they could see a bit better. But from their position they were easy targets for an archer. On the slight hill they stood they were lifted, enough to be shot by the enemy hiding somewhere farther away.
"Are you alright, how bad is the wound?" René asked, looking towards the place he guessed the arrow was shot. Between them was a slight valley, then another hill with much more, densely grown trees.
"Nothing bad, my mail held up quite nicely. Glad I bought a bit neater netted one." he said as he looked at the narrow arrow tip. Some nasty hooks were on it, and he shuddered imagining what damage that could have done embedded in his flesh.
"Let me take a look at that!" René ordered, helping Mikael standing up. As he got it in hand, he dragged Mikael abruptly backwards, hiding behind a tree.
A blink later he heard a -tock-, and another arrow was just on the place where he stood, and another one just beside the tree they hid.
"That should be some of the cultists. They had used these arrows before. Be glad they didn't hit right, or a chunk of your shoulder would be gone now." René said, tossing away the arrow.
"We are in quite of an disadvantage here. Unknown enemy numbers, they got archers and eventually creep up from behind us." he smiled, a mix of excitement and worry.
"Can't you make out their positions? With your scouting ability this shouldn't be that hard, no?" Mikael hoped that it would be the case.
"Sadly, my options here are limited. It is easier to find out enemies that use mana, but most are normal humans, not magicians. I'd have to invest more focus into my search, and considering our situation," he stopped, again taking Mikael under his arm and making a quarter turn, hiding behind the cover of another tree only a short distance away. Another arrow stuck to the trunk, digging only few millimeters into the wood.
"It is quite difficult to do. We are already in a better spot here than in that forest over there. Their bows are fairly weak. So they can't be to far away. We have to get act soon tho. Here we are served on a plate, and that I hate to be. You too?"
"Sure. Also, I saw two other persons walking towards us, don't know if they try to attack, but just so you know." Mikael reported.
"Say that sooner, bet these also gonna shoot us. These cultists like to hunt their targets from a distance, chasing them like game. Let's assume at least six, from three different positions. Doesn't look that good." he concluded, but then added:" We are two, one rookie and the other a experienced adventurer/magician. So we don't have to fear them."
"What do you mean? Isn't this here pretty critical right now?" he nervously looked around, the previous two attack on them made him anxious. Without René he would be screwed.
"You will see. For now trust my guidance and follow close. I'm gonna run, and you stick to my shadow."
He looked around, made a fleeting gesture to Mikael towards the direction of a dense pack of trees, and cou Ted with his fingers down from three.
When all fingers closed, René dashed out, breaking sticks and branched on his course. He didn't run in a straight line, but slightly diagonally, using trees and different elevations to their advantage.
Mikael had quite the problem with keeping up, even if just following the path. From René he felt an aura emitting, covering around them like a bubble, coming along. Another arrow was shot, this time Mikael saw it from the front.
'This is gonna hit him' he thought. To his surprise, before making contact the arrow began to alter its path slightly, missing René's chest by a hairs width.
At the same time Mikael felt a ripple run through the aura, getting a bit fainter.
'This is amazing! Is there anything impossible with magic?'
After that, he could make out the green and brown clothes, as well the cover used by the assailant. Coated in leaves, dirt and vines that guy nearly merged with the surrounding, and even after discovering him, Mikael had still trouble keeping an eye on him.
Not René, as he rushed straight towards that person's position.
That one also knew he was seen, removing the already nicked arrow, turning around to escape.
"Oh no, that's not gonna happen!" René called.
Another dash later, and he closed the distance in an instant, reappearing behind the attacker. After a quick thrust, René's sword had drawn blood, and the lifeless corpse fell to the ground.
"One done."
"And I guess the last one, or do you want to chase after these?" Mikael asked slightly out of breath, pointing at a couple of figures running towards the dark woods at an impressive speed.
"Rather not. These guys are cowards. But nasty ones once they got into their home turf. Bet they tried to get a sneaky one on us, thought you were an easy target."
"They weren't too far off. I nearly wanted to go after them and was distracted enough to get shot." he rubbed subconsciously his shoulder, it still hurting a bit from the impact.
"You missed the part where you managed to survive. These guys are impressive archers. Normally when they have targeted someone, especially after confusing one, they are done for. But here you are, breathing and cursing."
"Guess so. Before I was shot, my body somehow reacted faster then my mind could follow."
"Must have been your aura. For every magician it functions a bit differently on a subconscious plain. Mine is better for searching and discovering. Yours seem to be suited for reacting to sudden impulses, like attacks and intents. A good and practical one you can be glad for. Be careful if it tho, as an experienced enemy who knows of your skill can exploit it painlessly. Now let's get back, or I fear they think of another way to ambush us. Next stop is the forest."
"Why can't we go around them? After all they seem to target us. Is going in there into their territory a bit of an stretch?"
"I said before I got a goal for us to be here, no? I saw you fighting monsters and creatures before, nearly effortlessly. Your next step is gonna be killing humans."
"Is it so different to kill a human than a monster?" Mikael asked. When he thought to attack an person, the sensation should be the same.
"Quite, as you'll notice. After all people tend to express an impressive array of ejectiones upon death. But one at a time. These guys are perfect targets, and searched for a fight first. My guess is they wanted to make us tug our tail in with this. They didn't touch any of our stuff nor tried to lay any traps to actively hurt us, overlooking the failed ambush."
René observed as they had walked back to their camp. Woken up by them, they both were now wide awake, ready to start the journey for the day.
"Let's go kill some dirty cultists, right lad?"