The Clockwork Man was following no determined path through the forest, in fact he was going out of his way to do the exact opposite. So, laying a trap ahead of him was, without the power of foresight, completely impossible. He was moving around and between trees, first heading away from the bog and then doubling back, in other words, he was just covering ground. Regardless of how quick the creature overhead could keep pace with him while moving completely silently and causing no disturbance to its surroundings, it couldn’t launch anything at him fast enough from its position almost fifty meters above before he moved behind another tree. The distance from the canopy to the forest floor was too significant, and the density of the foliage was no help either. It could remain invisible up above, but it couldn’t harm him with its projectiles, no more than he could harm it as long as it refrained from using mana and maintained completely outside of his observation. 

Of course, the Clockwork Man was simply buying time. As the creature burned away branches and smashed up the environment above him he was waiting on his pistol, whirring away at his side. Ten seconds passed with a clanking sound emanating from the clockwork weapon, an announcement that he had one super-charged round prepared. He still couldn’t be sure that whatever was up there could be harmed through mundane means, but for now he was going to assume it could be and prepare one hell of a wallop for it while it lurked up above. This stalemate of sorts they’d found themselves in suited him just fine for the time being, and when he was bored of it the object in his left hand would provide some clarity to the situation. The Clockwork Man excelled at just this sort of combat, the creature could fight him at his own game if it wished, but he’d yet to lose a round.