Rylen and Meldarion rode in a light gallop. The cool night air whipping by them as they turned their horses to and fro past the various copses of trees within their path. Rylen didn't like the feeling of being out here still, but he could not dismiss the sheer beauty of their surroundings, even with the light mist. Their horses climbed over a small rise, and for a moment he was worried they might be visible to prying eyes, but it was over soon. The men then continued down further into a similar landscape once again, keeping their pace steady. 

He was beginning to expect that his anxieties has been for naught, and that the mist would only produce more and more trees. Until an arrow scythed through the obscuring steam and hit Meldarion's breastplate with a 'thunk'. It took Rylen all but an instant, and he reined his horse to a halt and cried out to his friend. The master swordsman in front of him had fallen off of his still galloping horse and hit the ground in a roll, before laying very still. 

"Mel!" Rylen yelled to his friend, then whipped his head around to see who would attack them. Dammit, but this was a stupid idea! His eyes gazed two figures uphill in the distance, but that was perhaps his imagination. Either way, he wasn't about to just leave his comrade in the dirt, which means he couldn't rightly ride away either. "Dammit." he muttered, and leaped off his horse with a Knight's familiarity, smacking it to send it running. 

The crusader turned, and was about to grab his friend's arm before he saw that Meldarion's body had disappeared. There was no time to question it, and he ran into the thickness of the trees, trying to get them to pursue him or to leave him be. Whichever it was, he'd have the advantage. He wanted to call out to Mel to see how badly he was injured, but drawing attention to his exact whereabouts did nothing but harm him.