Captain Horndall rode through the ranks of the militia. "To that mansion!" He cried over the clamour. "Cover the back. Circle it. You there, loosen the formation! Make room for the hunters to move! Hunters at the ready!"
The militia rushed to follow the hectic orders.
Horndall's lieutenant, a young man named Hess rode beside him, his face pale and exasperated. "We can't surround the entire mansion. We're stretching the unit too thin! Look around us, the core where we are is stretched!"
"I know."
Soon a ring of spears has formed around the mansion. Hunters slipped through the ranks and took the front, their bows trained on the gaping doorway leading to darkness.
They waited, frozen, as still as Boyd's lifeless body at the centre of the circle.
The air thick with anticipation.
Then, they heard footsteps. Slow, heavy footfalls.
Horndall raised his sword. "Draw!"
The order echoed all around, and the sound of bow strings being drawn and the wood straining resonated in the dead silence.
"Fire on my command and my command only!"
The footsteps came closer and closer. Horndall felt beads of sweat running down his brows. His hand was itching to bring down his sword and let loose the arrows, ending this nightmare in an instant.
The hunters fared worse. Their muscles tensed, holding the massive draw weight of their bows. Their fingers feel stiff, screaming to let loose.
A form shambled out the darkness and into the open.
It was Jobb, shambling, limp on one side, leg bloodied and leaving a trail of blood glinting dimly in the moonlight.
Horndall started wide-eyed. He nearly forgot to say, "H-hold fire! Hold fire!"
The hunters lowered their bows, their chest rising and falling fast.
Jobb opened his mouth, but no word came out, anly a long, shallow wheeze, his jaw seemingly set at an odd angle.
He swayed left and right, until he finally toppled on to the dead rock like an oak.
Some men rushed past the hunters to rescue Jobb and Boyd.
And then he came. Out of the darkness, a man, nay, a daemon, sprang forth, face blackened by blood and rage, waving a massive two handed sword in the air.
The rescuers could barely scream before they were cut down by his sword. Magebane weaved through them like a sharp knife through flesh, leaving a trail of blood in his path.
Horndall cried. "H-hunters!"
They drew their bows and let loose a volley of arrows.
The Magebane caught a rescuer and held him against the incoming arrows. The unlucky man cried as arrows struck him on the back, turning him into a pincushion.
The hunters lowered their bows in horror.
"D-don't shoot!" The rest of the rescuers cried as they ran from the daemon at their heel.
Horndall cursed. Magebane used Jobb as a lure and the men as meat shields. He has heard plenty of Magebane's might, but no one ever told him of his cunning.
The Magebane used the confusion to take his spear from Boyd's back.
When the rescuers finally retreated to the ranks, and the hunters could finally aim, it was all too late. They could barely draw their bows before Magebane was on them. Bows were cut in half. Thin armours were sliced like butter. Blood splattered like a shower of rain.
"W-we need reinforcement!" cried the Lieutenant Hess, head snapping to and fro.
Clamour began as the militia on the rear of the mansion began to break formation and rush towards the Magebane.
Horndall raised his sword. "Maintain position! Approach as you are!"
They slowed down and surrounded the Magebane, maintaining their bristle of spears. The Magebane tried to lunge and attack, but he was harried back by the spears and pitchforks. Magebane stayed back, staving off the bristle of spears.
Magebane looked at the militia forming and spat. His path was blocked everywhere.
Everywhere except for a point.
He charged through the stretched core of the unit, barreling past men, evading their spears and slicing scythes.
Hess and Horndall were right on his path. The Magebane descended on their position, fast.
Hess' horse buckled. He couldn't move out of the way as the Magebane approached. He closed his eyes and raised his arms instinctively.
But the blow never came.
He opened his eyes to find the Magebane had passed him, running up the hill, towards high ground, towards the darkness.
Towards the inescapable pit.
Hess grinned. "H-he ran!"
Horndall nodded. "Deny the enemy escape, and he will fight to the last breath. Give him an escape, and he will flee for his life."
He looked at the aftermath of the escape. Some men rushed to retrieve Boyd and Jobb. Some poured inside the mansion and pulled the bodies of the other guards.
The men around Jobb snapped their head up. "He's alive!"
Horndall breathed a sigh of relief.
Horndall pulled his horse's rein, steering him away. "The sappers will soon follow in our trail. They brought supplies, too. They'll handle the injured. Let's go."
"And where will we go?"
Horndall turned to where the Magebane escaped. Some of the militia broke off from the unit and followed after him, their spears raised to the air, their torches waving as they ran.
"Stopping the unit before they do something foolish."