With Kaleeth's warning, Gallus only needed to take the most fleeting look behind him to dodge out of Kaleeth's way and let her surge forward. Now that Ra'maranja had a shield, Gallus couldn't get a good shot at him with his dagger unless he turned tail, but it seemed like they were making a stand here. If Kaleeth could drive them back to a point on the platform where there was space for two to fight forward, he would take the space beside her and fight. Anyone behind them without a ranged weapon would have to be content to wait, but if any got injured, there would at least be plenty of allies to swap with.

In the meantime, Gallus scanned the forest floor for any signs of Ra'maranja's 'reinforcements'. "Surrender, Ra'maranja!" Gallus shouted, "You are outnumbered and have nowhere to go!"

[hr]
Upon nearing where the enemy force was regrouping, Janius slowed his pace to a stalk to observe them. There were a lot of them. At least seven. Most were archers, likely with silver. Janius was outmatched if he regarded them head on, but he had an advantage in surprise. They probably won't expect an attack from behind them.

Janius waited until they were tracking again. He had more experience and a cooler head than Peiter, so he was patient. He needed to be. All he needed was for one of them to stray from the group far enough. Keeping low in the thick foliage, Janius found his mark. He left nothing for hesitation as he sprinted out of nowhere, leapt up behind the archer, tore his neck with his teeth, and disappeared back into obscurity before any others could line up a shot. Anyone who didn't have their eye in the right place would have just heard a brief scream and a dark shape.

If that didn't force them to give up chasing Sabine and Peiter, Janius knew he could take another.

[hr]
Sabine was leading the way for Peiter as fast as Peiter could follow. As they drew past the point where they were most likely to run into their pursuers, her anxiety increased. Having no one in sight was something of a relief, but she did not slow down until they reached they finally reached the stream.

The stream itself was barely enough to run along in single file, but if they were careful, they would be able to traverse it such that the blood would not remain as a sign. They headed upstream, to the north. Sabine guided Peiter by the arm at this point and made sure that he kept going in the right direction. "Keep going..." Sabine urged him desperately, "Keep going..."