Kelvin slowed down when he managed to get far enough away that the torches were just flashes of light in the trees, taking his time to pick through the woods. It wasn’t easy in the darkening sky. Luckily, the other guy had followed quickly with the child. That meant that Separ and Carver had only to worry about keeping the gnome safe, wherever he was, and running away. The seer seemed to be one of those types that somehow survived, no matter what happened. He chose not to worry about her.
Kelvin grimaced.
Am I a coward? He had chosen to grab the girl and run, rather than stand and fight… but there was a fine line between bravery and stupidity. The raiders were still somewhere close by, and any noise or light could bring an army down on their heads.
”Hey.” Kelvin kept his voice quiet, though it was above a whisper.
”How far do you think we should go tonight? I need to take a short rest.” He couldn’t carry this girl forever, his arms were starting to ache from having to carry her as far as he did. With a moment to spare, he could put together a stretcher, and then they could move a lot faster. Kelvin slowed, and then the girl mumbled something in her sleep, opening her eyes.
"My, my. First you were daring enough to near a woman that you never met before, and now I find myself being held in your arms."Kelvin looked at her, mouth opening to reply and then halting, blood rushing to his face. So forward. So frustrating. He would never understand women. The flustered engineer almost dropped her right there.
“What’s happening?”That was enough for him. Kelvin chose a tree, put his back to it, and dropped down, letting her fall into his lap, blanket and all. He sighed and leaned his head back against the tree with his eyes closed.
”Since the last time I saw you awake, the town was attacked by an army of goblins. We tried to fight them off, but failed… everyone in it was killed.” He motioned towards the other guy.
”He managed to save one of the villagers, and most of our group managed to gather back together outside of town safely… but a scouting party found us. The Seer and gnome disappeared, but Separ and Carver squared off against five men while I picked you up and ran for the forest. Scarf-boy here grabbed the girl and came with me.” He groaned.
”For all I know, they are dead now. That’s what’s happening.”