A Hand-Woven Universe 89 89. A Lone Tribesman

It was the middle of the day and the two groups squared off against each other while the harsh sun baked the earth overhead. Tobias's group were covered behind a series of boulders. The paladin peeked around the edge, eyeing the beings which had attacked them.
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"Only two. 150 meters. Long and short range weapons. Epoch tribesman, but most likely scouts." Instantaneously Tobias's mind ran through a series of scenarios taking in as much information as he could about the other beings.

It worried him that they attacked outright the way they did. Either they had backup, or they were confident in being able to take on a group that outnumbered them three times over.

At the same time, sally cast a series of buffs onto everyone around her. Immediately both Sarah and Feylin felt their minds clear and their bodies became vaguely lighter.

"No, they attacked from a distance, so they aren't confident in being able to take us. They are testing us." Tobias's mind gradually eased into a plan. They needed to take out the scouts. Now that they have been spotted, they couldn't let the two tribes-man go back and report their position. The tribesman were keeping their distance in case they realized they were outmatched and wanted to run for it.

"Raelith. Sally. Sarah. Feylin. You go that way, try to flank the one on the right." His voice was hurried but clear, his commands were simple. "Noone! You're with me, advance left." Tobias didn't wait for Noone to respond, das.h.i.+ng forward and making eye contact with Noone who was ducked behind the cart.

The horse which Sally had summoned earlier in the day took the brunt of three arrows and dispersed into smoke. Noone looked over the edge of the cart, his mind focused on maintaining his sphere of sight which had protected him from the initial attack.

Noone's whole body was tense as he stared at the epoch tribesman which had nearly took his head. Noone already died once, he was not eager to try the process again. Something told him the results would not be so beneficial a second time.

When he heard Tobias's voice, he made eye contact and gave a quick nod of affirmation. He had never trained in battle, but he had seen the others do so hundreds of times. He knew that everyone deferred to Tobias and trusted him to make the right choices.

"Go." Tobias said just loud enough for everyone to hear him. Rae being the nimblest took the lead on the right. Everyone in her party crisscrossed and boulder-hopped as they advanced towards the tribesman. 150 meters was not a far distance to cover, but they needed to move carefully. No one wanted to risk exposing their bodies to an arrows path.

Tobias dashed forward to the left, axe brandished in single hand. Noone made to follow close behind - but as soon as he began to move another arrow pierced the side of the cart where he had been a moment before.

Noone's heart thudded violently, he swiveled around quickly and looked behind him. He grit his teeth, his eyes widening in shock. There was a third tribesman only 50 meters away. It rounded the side of a boulder and had been sneaking up behind the group.

Suddenly Noone was faced with a dilemma. He thought to follow Tobias, but it would be dangerous to leave a third tribesman at their backs. Especially if it decided to keep the distance and shoot at them while they tried to deal with the other two.

The lone tribesman was already knocking another arrow with his two lower arms while his upper arms held a sword in each hand. The gold sheen of his skin was incredibly dazzling under the mid-day sun.

Tobias was at the next boulder, he shot a look behind him to see where Noone was. When he saw the third tribesman which had been flanking them, a frown plastered itself onto his face. He quickly began calculating options. He didn't know how strong these tribesmen were. By instinct, he felt that he could take it one on one, but he was not sure.

As he was deciding whether or not to advance, Noone had come to his own decision. Like stretched rubber, Noone's legs flexed with enough force to send his whole body shooting forward.

He decided to take the tribesman that was flanking the group alone - figuring that the group from the order would make quick work of the other two, and then be there to help him.

I only need to stall it for long enough, Noone thought through gritted teeth.

Tobias quickly realized what Noone was doing. He set his chin in determination. In a battle, the only true rule is to not hesitate. Hesitation leads to death. He and Rae's group would have to deal with the other two tribesmen quickly. Noone would just have to hold out 'till then.

In the back of Tobias's mind, he was extremely impressed by Noone. His decisiveness to engage the lone tribesman wasn't normal. After all, this Noone wasn't the same being who blindly went into battle regardless of the consequences that Tobias had fought before. This Noone was a clear-thinking individual. Normal people untrained in battle have the hardest time being decisive.

Tobias redoubled his speed, rapidly rus.h.i.+ng towards the two tribesmen. His axe was held up like a s.h.i.+eld, with the ma.s.sive blades covering much of Tobias's torso. At this speed he and Rae would end up engaging the tribesman at the same time.

Noone quickly closed the gap das.h.i.+ng straight towards the lone tribesman who was already pulling a notched arrow back in his bow.

Just when the bow crested, Noone planted his right foot down and pivoted to the left. He knew the basics of how a bow worked. Raelith had instructed him rather diligently about various weapons: The one downside to a bow, he thought, is that it can only shoot straight.

The tribesman smirked when he saw Noone pivot, easily seeing through the clumsy dodge. He adjusted his aim to the side Noone was leading to, directly where Noone's next step would take him, and released the arrow.

The arrow closed the measly distance between the two in a split second. Noone had no time to react to the sudden change in direction. However, he was not worried, he had no intention of das.h.i.+ng to the left anyways, not really.

His body turned to the left, but the ball of his left foot dug a small crater into the ground, s.h.i.+fting his weight backwards from the direction he was facing. He pivoted left but moved right.

The arrow pierced through the s.p.a.ce he would have been - uselessly, leaving the whistling collapse of sliced air behind.

The tribesman's smirk turned to a frown, the sudden backstep allowed Noone to avoid the arrow completely. Now it was Noone who smirked, as if saying "obviously I wasn't going to the left, see?" His heart throbbed violently. There was something inside of Noone which began to relax under the tension. Instead of becoming more rigid and tight, his body grew lighter and gradually loosened up as he prepared to engage the tribesman in combat.

The golden-hued being dropped the bow in his hands without hesitation. The distance between them was now too short to draw another arrow. Initially when Noone had moved out of the way of his first arrow, he a.s.sumed it was a fluke. But seeing Noone suddenly outmaneuver him, he couldn't help but take things a little more seriously. As Noone closed the last ten meters, he slowed his approach, giving himself enough time to a.n.a.lyze the other being.

The tribesman was shorter than him by almost a full head, however he was equally muscled. Obviously, he trained his body hard, and white scarring could be seen jaggedly lining his four golden arms. On his chest was a chiseled metal breastplate which contoured perfectly against his form.

Noone frowned, suddenly Noone had become exceedingly aware of the fact he had no tools or weapons. He really wished he had his pick.

Most interesting and dangerous of all were the four arms. The two upper arms held swords, much like the one he had seen Feylin use. The lower two arms held small s.h.i.+elds, bucklers he believed.

Noone knew this was going to be tough, but he reminded himself he didn't need to beat this man in combat, only stall long enough for the rest of his group to come.

Weirdly enough, the tribesman he was facing held the exact same thoughts, although he still looked down on Noone. Noone did not even have weapons, or any armor to speak of. And judging from his body, the tribesman did not believe Noone to be any form of spellcaster.

Noone's s.h.i.+rt was woven hemp given to him by Tobias, and his pants were the same. No armor or protection.

Yet as Noone closed the last 5 meters and the danger became incredibly real, his mind and body both relaxed, everything irrelevant disappeared and his entire attention focused on the hurdle in front of him.

Somewhere in his mind, thoughts of strength and future revenge calmed his nerves.

If you can't kill some no-one, how can you avenge your home…?