Invar had hardly succumbed to sleep before he was shaken awake by the shouts of his comrades.
"Up! Up! Arm Yourselves!"
"We're under attack!"
"They're in the darkness"
"They're mounted!" Invar peeked through the flaps of his tent, his knees quaking from shock and cold. Before he could act, one of the attackers charged the scrambling defenders, trampling them and knocking them down in an instant. The assailant turned at lightning speed and struck down another scout with a quick blow to the neck before returning to the cover of darkness. Now only Dmetri remained to defend the camp. For two agonizing minutes it was quiet.
"Arkn keep me" Dmetri whispered to himself as the sound of hooves grew closer. His shield and stance did little to blunt the charge and the corporal was knocked on his back.
"Ara's blood! CE—" a blow across the face cut Dmetri's curses short. Two of his teeth landed just outside Invar's tent. This was it. Invar was alone, there was no chance but flight. He'd have to run down the ditch where he couldn't be charged. He dashed out of his tent before tripping on a tent string. Alone and grounded, there was little to do but keep his face to the ground as the thundering hooves grew louder.
Invar awoke with a throbbing pain in his head. The sun's rays irritated his tired eyes and the rushing of the nearby river left his ears ringing. It took him nearly a minute to realize his hands were bound to a tree in a part of the woods he had never seen before. He began to pant as he realized he was either alone or in the hands of his attackers, he couldn't decide which was worse.
"What's my play here? They could have taken me anywhere in the forest by now. Even if I cut these bonds I'm still lost and alone." Invar's breathing quickened for a moment before he was able to regain his composure. "Think. This river has to be the Vosti. Ara's bones, I could be in Likovia for all I know! Half-breeds're probably the one's who attacked. It doesn't matter. The Vosti flows out of the forest to Nilskri, from there I can get a horse and backtrack my way home." Invar's planning was interrupted by a rustling in the nearby bushes. Invar could feel his heart rate pick up as the sound moved closer. Why couldn't he just break these gods-damned binds? Invar grunted as he struggled to wrestle himself from his bondage until at last the rustling stopped. Invar looked up to see a masked centaur towering over him, knife in hand.
The centaur let out a huff, leaned down and cut the binds. Without wasting a second, Invar kicked the centaur's leg and rolled into the river. He was swept away in an instant. He looked back to see the centaur regain its composure and take off after him. But it was too late. The river was too fast. Even at full gallop the monster couldn't catch him. Now he just had to focus. He needed to land on the opposite bank of the river where he could slip off into the forest.
Easier said than done.
Invar struggled to keep himself facing forward. The water was near ice-cold and his head hadn't quite stopped ringing. Just as Invar was losing control he saw it. His chance. A tree branch hung just over the river. It approached him quicker and quicker. Invar reached his hands out to grab his lifeline but had failed to notice the rock beneath it.
Invar woke to a hand slapping him across the cheek. The ringing in his head drowning out the river's roars and the snowbird's songs. A quick feel around with his tongue revealed he had lost a couple teeth. These concerns were quite literally overshadowed by the sight of the masked centaur from before, knife still in hand. To his surprise, once the centaur saw he was awake, it backed away, hands in the air. It leaned down and placed its knife on the cold forest floor. The two stared at each other in silence for what felt like half an hour. Finally, the centaur reached behind its head and pulled off her mask.
"Impossible..."
"Hello Invar."
