Silias made it out of the ruins by the skin of his nose, the Knight protecting his flank taking an arrow but surviving due to his armor, the arrowhead merely giving a small flesh wound in his left shoulder blade. They burst out of the archway, the patrolling Knights forming up to protect their Lord. Whatever was within the ruins skittered to a stop before the filtered light of day that streamline down through the thick canopy above. They must have been as afraid of the sunlight as the gleaming plate of the Knights now arrayed before them, shields and weapons at the ready. Other than a few screeches that promised swift death to any that would draw near, the dark figures simply slipped away and faded into nothingness.

The next few hours the caravan moved swiftly, as far away from the ruins they could get for fear of pursuit by whatever had been within the depths. Luckily it seemed there was nothing to be worried on from their flank, and soon they regained their normal vigil of being far more concerned of the forest before them. The Borderlands were not as wild as the Southland proper, but there were plenty of dangers that lurked within the deep of the woods.  

Up ahead, one Knight at the fore called to the others. "Bridge!" they could hear him announce in the distance. Perhaps it was less than a mile for them to make it there. Silias and his retainers were safe within the carriage, with 12 unwounded Knights and 2 Knights that were closer to the carriage, but still relatively fighting fit. The carriage bumped, going over a few unsmoothed stones, causing the riders inside to jump a tad. An arrow sliced into the curtain that shaded Silias and his retainers from the outside sun with stark suddenness, and that was the only indication that the bandits had arrived. A hail of arrows were loosed upon the Knights from the left side of the woods, the terrain slowly elevating as the forest turned into the foothills of the mountain. 

One of the Knights was killed by the volley, and 3 were injured. Most however were protected by their well forged armor and shields. Cries of battle and charging bandits were suddenly audible, and nearly thirty men armed with swords, axes, spiked maces and other more cruel weapons charged onto the road and began to engage the Knights that had drawn swords. 

As Zin, Arassel, Jex, Regeland, and Hobnobb (with crew) headed toward the bridge, they could hear the clash of steel on steel, and cries of pain and anger in the distance. It was happening before they got to the bridge! They had a small gulley to traverse, which would be a bit more difficult for the Gnomes than the others, and would get the Gnomes wet to their stomachs (just below the knees for the others if they waded into it). Once they crossed it, they would need to decided if they wished to directly aid the Lord, or sneak around and flank the archers and bandits still traversing the woods. At the moment, there were 14 bandits in makeshift leather and chainmail hacking away at 11 Knights, as well as a few injured ones that held back and used their superb training to thrust their swords when able.
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Kayden and Cassilda quickly dispatched the men before them with some clever sword work. They seemed to do well fighting in unison, guarding one another's flanks as they finished the men off. Morek had made it to one of the crossbowmen, and needless to say the man died from a rather large axe wound to the 'everything'. Nuva's attempt to kill two birds with one stone had worked, for the most part. Unfortunately, while the man that had been flung toward the crossbowman had hit the mark, the crossbow had gone off. Its trajectory was off, but it still hit Nuva on the hip. It wasn't a hit that tore any vital areas, but the flesh wound that had been wrought (the bolt had sheared through bits of skin and muscle and flew out the other side) caused a bit of bleeding and considerable pain for any who wasn't used to it. Nuva had seen worse though, and other than it slowing him down perhaps, and while it was smart to clean the wound, it wasn't serious. The crossbowman was down, and Morek finished him off as well. The room was now secure, with dead men and blood strewn about the stones on the ground thanks to the element of surprise. Kayden breathed heavily, a bit of blood on his face from a cut to his cheek, as well as some ubiquitous splatter from a man he had run through. 

He pointed to the door with his sword, on the opposite end of the room where the crossbowmen had died. "Through that door is the gate. We pass by it as quickly as we can. Secret and Laila are taking care of the men upstairs but they might not have finished the job yet-" Or they had been killed themselves, but a leader wouldn't take the pessimistic approach and expect to be seen as someone to lead. "so we must move quickly to the opposite door. That'll lead to the great hall. Nuva, how are you?"
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