It sucked. It was so much worse than fighting a goblin. The strength and speed was on a whole other level. The ice made it incredibly hard to stand her ground. She wasn't even trained to fight like a swordsman. She had her bow and her arrow, could track animals, and was a great asset while outside of combat, but inside? She couldn't do much. It was dangerous to fight on ice. A danger that was as equal to herself than it was to others.

As the two had their momentary duel, Ash was disarmed as the swordsman used his armor to slap her dull blade out of the way. She was unarmed in a hostile world. She had her quiver on her back, but what use was old worn leather and arrows in such a melee? The skeletal swordsman went for a brutal thrust—to skewer Ash on the blade that he possessed.

It was a joke. A cruel joke. Every waking moment in this world was terrible. Getting sick, allies in debt, almost dying to a goblin, being constantly forced to the ends of her wit; her life lead to nothing but misery. It was a massive trial. No, that was a misnomer. A trial would imply some level of fairness. This was an execution.

But Ash didn't want to die.

She couldn't.

She wouldn't.

As long as she could think, she would refuse to die. Her thoughts all echoing that sentiment. Her actions, all echoing it. No matter what. She. Would. Not. Die. With a healer, getting stabbed was fine. She could take it. Not well, though. Long enough so that Gwyn could do her duty and get rid of the skeleton that was assailing her. If she had to take a sword in the process, she would.

The ice was a curse, but it could also be a blessing. Her wrists hurt, but she could still manage all of her strength. After all, one could break their limits if they had no other options. With the thrust coming her way, she kept her arms outstretched in front of her. She didn't need to catch the blade. She just needed to push it off center. Once it was off center, she could grab and control the skeleton as best as she could. Wrist, arm, hand, blade, anything that would let her survive, she tried to grab. If they skeleton tried to move with her latched on, she could just abuse the ice and slide on top of it. If the skeleton would demand Ash to fall, then he would too. Ash refused to go out like this.