[b][u]Beric Vendal[/u][/b]

Beric had been one of the first to wake. His life as an outlaw had forced him to become a light sleeper, so all it took was a bit of sun shining on his face to rouse him from his slumber. [color=39b54a][i]Look at that, none of them slit your throat![/i][/color] Cassius remarked brightly.

Beric was about to issue a mental retort, when he became aware of a new sound. The galloping of horses. Not just one, but several. He felt a tinge of dread crawl up his spine, as he looked around and realized there was little cover. For a bandit, a cavalry charge on open, flat ground meant death.

[color=39b54a][i]You're not a bandit anymore,[/i][/color] Cassius's voice snapped, [color=39b54a][i]you're a mage, in the company of ten other mages. You have magic. Use it![/i][/color]

Beric quickly scrambled for his equipment. There would be no time fully arm himself, but he could do his best. It took him a second to don his mask, He threw on his cloth gambeson in only a few more seconds, which thankfully covered the majority of his body. Some gambesons were thick enough to stop arrows, and he hoped that his was one of them. He grabbed the dagger he hid under his bedroll, and returned it to its sheathe, before grabbing his axe and returning it to his belt. Lastly, he slung his quiver over his arrow and grabbed his bow, notching an arrow.

Then, he saw them. No more than ten, but they were fast approaching. There was no fleeing from them. If they turn and ran into the streets behind them, they would have been run down. He was about to suggest they flee into the forest, but then he spotted movement in the trees, and realized they were likely surrounded. That left only one option.

[color=f7941d]"Stand and fight!"[/color] Beric shouted to his companions, "[color=f7941d]They're in the woods! If you run, we all die!"[/color]

He glanced forward at the riders, who appeared to be armed in chainmail, and probably had gambesons of their own underneath. The quality of their armour was anyone's guess. They all wielded spears and shields, so they could probably block anything he shot at them, and he wouldn't get close enough to use his axe.

The one thing that wasn't protected was their horses.

He raised his bow. He had shot more than one horse in the past. It was a tricky thing. In most cases, one shot alone was not enough to make them fall. It would slow them, and they might bleed out later, but they would not fall. The only way to instantly and permanently stop them in their tracks was to shoot them through either the heart or the eye. Difficult, but within his skill, at least.

Taking a deep breath, he drew the string back, aimed at the lead rider, and loosed.

The shot met its mark, and the horse screamed in pain as it fell, landing on its side and crushing its rider's leg, whose screams soon joined that of the mount.

Beric wasted no time. Slinging his bow back over his shoulder, he activated one of his abilities. He quickly disappeared, and was suddenly replaced by a rather confused and shocked rider. Beric himself appeared on the rider's horse, on the left side of the formation (from the cavalry's perspective). With one hand, he steered his mount towards the second rider, and with the other hand he drew his axe. Too fixated on the enemies standing before him, the rider didn't realize Beric was approaching until Beric's axe was swung diagonally into his neck, meeting the gap between helmet and chainmail.

The third rider noticed this, and was about to turn to engage, but then Beric slammed his axe down into the skull of his own horse, before immediately swapping himself with the third rider, who fell to the ground along with the freshly slain mount.

Beric immediately swerved his new horse back toward the right, and charged it directly into the mount of the fourth rider, leaping forward from his saddle to tackle his next victim to the ground. But before either of them could land, he merely swapped himself with the fifth rider, sending the two foes to the ground in a tangle of limbs and armour, likely breaking bones, while Beric was safely atop a fresh horse.

By now, the rest of the riders were likely about to engage his new companions. That was not enough space to maneuver and take down another one, so instead he turned and galloped away. Only as he turned away from the battle did he suddenly realize just how taxing his magic had been - he was heavily out of breath. There was still some fight in him, but he doubted he could cast another spell.

Beric came to a stop a safe distance away from the fight, where he was in no immediate danger but well within longbow range. At this point he could have fled if he wanted to, but instead he drew his bow and turned to see how the rest of the fight was progressing.