The Open Road

Demetrius pauses. There was a figure in front of him, in the far distance, Xin , and perhaps @sione , though Demetrius couldn't quite tell. If there was a figure on the road, there was reason to be alarmed; it could very well be a bandit or some man wishing to collect a toll. He pauses and listens closely, hearing the rustle of bushes. It was a bit loud, but perhaps the wind was merely energetic. Regardless, Demetrius placed a hand on his blade. He didn't have his servant, Sarah, around and he'd rather not die without her. He wanted to see the look on her face when he was finally done in.

Demetrius listens as the rustling stops. It was a bit too abrupt. He draws his sword and quietly decides to prepare a spell in his open hand, collecting his energy as a small spark of black flame appears. He begins to smell Legion Master Zhax , his nose clearly alerting him to the foreign scent of metal in the foliage. Even through his mask, he could smell the other men around. Demetrius quietly sights a nearby tree, planning to run behind it for cover. The two people down the road, Xin , @sione , might be quite the problem if they were with the men hiding in the foliage.

Demetrius spots the projectiles moving towards him from the direction of Legion Master Zhax and reflexively jumps behind the tree he'd previously spotted, his hand still charging with a dark flame as he draws his sword close to himself. Demetrius' hair abruptly stands on end and he turns to spot @sione gathering the fog around her. He quietly swears under his breath as he moves around the tree to hide himself from both the wraith and the bandits, the magic in his hand shifting.

(My apologies, I was busier this weekend than I wanted to be.)

As one would expect, Demetrius Elantine easily sought cover from the projectiles as one of the arrows and the poison dart whizzed by where he was previously standing, the second arrow embedded itself in the wooden trunk that he was hiding behind. Legion Master Zhax, a gnoll and another kiggy, who all were without javelins, would try to quickly dash across the open road and flank so that Demetrius Elantine would be positioned between @sione and them. However, this lengthy maneuver left them quite open for a very short time as they moved, but soon were able to find some cover among the shrubbery once they crossed. Likely if Demetrius Elantine tried to step out and strike or attack the trio, the bandits across the road would turn him into a javelin pincushion

They were just out of melee range, and they sought to close the gap. Zhax kept his dual daggers out, one at each side of his body, ready to parry in multiple directions. The center Gnoll wielded only a longsword and was poised to soon make a powerful downwards strike, but hesitated until he was close enough, the rightmost Kiggy was equipped with an old looking wood buckler and a smaller arming sword. They crept at the man with arms at the ready, careful to watch their positioning as to give their comrades a clear shot and not give the ghost a clear hit.

Digits wriggled slightly through the roots of the trees attempting to create slightly larger gap between the tangles of vines and roots. The dark form of Sione was clear enough as she stood just outside the opening of the small hallow, while that single silver orb peered through the gap that he had made. Arrows harmlessly striking against the tree that Demetrius, had hid behind. Though the intent was clear. They were trying to kill him? Though for what purpose the boy could not determine, then three more figures shambled across the road armed with and assortment of weapons- none of them seemed to be very uniform. Bandits was the only thing that the boy could think of though for mere bandits there seemed to be no reason to strike a wanderer when they could have just robbed him, unless they were after the male for some other reason. ”Lizardmen?” he asked in an inquisitive tone. He wanted to get a better look though Sione had told him to stay put. Toes curled slightly against the cool earth as the Wraith began to draw more energy from the surrounding area, causing frost to from on the roots and tiny beads of moisture to line the mouth of the hallow as if tiny jewels. ”Sione.” it was a whisper, as if to keep the others from hearing them and he lightly tugged on the fabric of her cloak. ”I don’t think they’re interested in us.”