Loden nocked another arrow, pulled the bowstring back, aimed at a soldier dressed in studded leather and standing seemingly dazed in the kill zone. He was no one Loden knew, not a brother of the Nightwood. He let his arrow fly, true to its mark. He repeated the process at least a dozen times more, maybe more. Some arrows found their mark, killing or wounding his prey while others simply flew past to be lost in the wood behind. He would retrieve whatever arrows he could later, even if they were coated in the blood of his victims.

Curiosity did take him to consider the condition of his brothers in the kill zone. He watched their progress with some feelings of trepidation. He whispered a simple prayer hoping they would fare well in this maelstrom of flying missiles and flailing steel. He could not afford to lose another family member so soon after the loss of Brand.

Loden spied a well armored man-at-arms charging towards Varrick, who had recently dispatched a foe. He pulled back on his bowstring, aiming carefully down the shaft at this imposing threat to Varrick. He allowed the string to retract, hurtling the wooden shaft towards the charging man. It struck him in the chest. The man appeared to stumble, but did not fall. Varrick in turn stepped forward, separating his head from his shoulders with one slash of Varrick's sword. It was a clean cut with the severed head rolling onto the ground.

The battle may have lasted fewer than five minutes and appeared to be dying down. Loden stepped from his position behind a tree. He failed to see the close call Masef had recently survived, even though his brother stood only a few feet away. Apparently, he did get caught up in the moment, seeing only those events in his point of view.

Once the last of the King's men had hit the ground, Loden called out, "Is everyone all right? Is anyone injured?" He looked around and tried to count his brothers and sisters present in the ambush. But an interloper fell upon the group, distracting him.

This was no stranger, it was one of their brothers who he had not seen in many years. "Razan Ter!? is that you!?" Loden smiled and ran to his brother. They grabbed heads and bumped foreheads in the Orcish way. Loden never cared for [i]real[/i] orcs, killing several in those years between leaving the Nightwood and today. But Razan Ter, was his brother, never considered as a [i]real[/i] orc. This one was special, at least to him. He was his friend, confidant and brother. He would die for this man, who only looked like an orc.

[i]"So he's really passed?"[/i] Razan Ter asked the question. It served to bring Loden back to reality. The joyous expression of a hasty reunion, rapidly replaced by the grim expression of sadness.

"Yes, my brother. Our father has passed," Loden looked at Razan Ter and then up at Masef inspecting the corpse. "Go take a look for yourself." He pointed at Masef, then turned toward Krayton Mott holding his right hand pressed over his left bicep.

Always ready to help anyone injured, Loden rushed to Krayton's side, "sit down!" he ordered.

Krayton sat upon a fallen timber. Loden eyed the laceration to the outside of Krayton's arm. "I will need to sew it up. You are cut pretty deep." He pulled his pack off his back and retrieved a needle and thread. After pushing the thread through the eye of the needle, he began to pierce the pointed end into Krayton's flesh. The larger man winced at the slight pain, but bore it bravely. Slowly, Loden worked his fingers back and forth in an attempt to close the wound. Once he was complete, he cut the string, returned the needle to his pack and retrieved a white powder. "This will reduce the pain and prevent the wound from festering," Loden attempted to calm him down knowing that if the wound began to fester it could go bad. "Let me know if this starts to smell liked old rotten cabbage." He finished it off by wrapping a strand of cloth around the wound, binding it tightly. But not too tightly as to cut the circulation off.


[@Flagg][@NickTrano][@HeySeuss][@R31GN][@POOHEAD189][@AirBender][@Naril][@Noxious][@The Survivor][@Hellis]