When heard the sounds of distant fighting - grunts and screams - Elrik had started determinedly crawling towards them.

When he peered through the gorsebush, he didn’t know what he’d find. He hadn’t imagined this.

Sakka the eternally sour-faced spearman, with his slight narrow frame and his permanent frown, was facing off with half a dozen men.

The ambushers all wore the same kind of mismatched leathers the archer had on. They carried a variety of spears and blades. They formed a kind of half moon around Sakka - hemming him in - with a line of trees at his back. The ambushers tried to push in, trying to overwhelm Sakka with their numbers, but he was holding them off.

Sakka’s spear seemed to be everywhere at once - the spear point danced in the air - stabbing - parrying.

There - one spearman in leathers tried to thrust forward and stab - but Sakka subtly twisted - moving just a hair's-breadth out of the way. As the stab turned into slash - his own spear smashed down from above - it's haft pushing the ambusher’s spear down away from his body. Suddenly, Sakka’s spear twisted - twirling the other away - jumping forward to stab the ambusher.

Just as he did - two of them stepped in with swords - and Sakka’s spear had to dart to the side to bat their swords away from him.

It was a stalemate.

Sakka was nearly the equal of all of them together - but hemmed in like this - he didn’t have the space to attack. They moved well together - always keeping him defending - never giving Sakka the chance to attack.

The fight was on a razors’ edge. As Elrik’s eyes watched Sakka - he realized - the wiry man’s spear was moving fast enough to keep his defenses up. Yet - at the same time - keep every one of the ambushers on the back foot - too scared to lunge at him.

Even as he batted away attacks and parried thrusts into counterattacks - he sent his own spear darting out into their faces - pushing them back. All while rattling off a near constant stream of curses under his breath.

If all of them rushed him at once, perhaps one of them might manage to put a blade through him… But he’d take three of them down with him - and they knew it.

So they were playing for time instead, waiting and hoping he made a mistake.

They were wearing him down though, and Sakka was starting to show it. Even as Elrik watched, he was moving slower and slower. The ambushers just needed to get lucky once.

Elrik didn’t know if he could spare a minute. Sakka might not have a minute. Elrik knew that without a plan though - without something - at best he’d serve as a moment’s distraction.

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Against his instincts, even as Sakka fought for his life, Elrik back crept in the bushes. He started working as fast as he could. His fingers fumbled twice, as shot through with adrenaline as he was, but he kept at it.

There! Once he was done, Elrik adjusted his grip on the crossbow, readied his spear and crept out into the clearing.

…

Elrik had a plan.

It had three steps - and relied on a lot of luck.

He strode forward with his spear awkwardly cradled in the crook of one elbow and the crossbow held ready with both hands.

The first part of the plan started well. The six ambushers, their eyes on Sakka, didn’t notice him until he sent the first crossbow bolt flying at them. Unfortunately it hit one of them along his back - where the leather cuirass turned it away so it went skittering across his back - doing little more than startle him.

Elrik didn’t stop to notice. He was already walking forwards, fumbling, his spear still cradled, winding back the crossbow and loading a second bolt into it as soon as the first was in the air.

When he looked up, the attackers were exchanging tense words. Two of them peeled away from Sakka and came for Elrik, swords ready, leaving the other four to Sakka.

Ah. Not good. He’d been hoping for just one to come after him.

Elrik stood steady and raised the crossbow, steadying his aim. The two ambushers walked forward carefully, weaving, blades ready - watching the tip of the crossbow bolt like hawks.

Elrik took aim, stared down the sights and exhaled. He really hoped his second shot went better than his first.

When he pulled the trigger, the crossbow jumped with a “Thukk!”. Both the ambushers coming at him leapt aside, almost reflexively - jumping in sync to dodge coming the crossbow bolt.

Step two. The bolt hit neither of them. Instead it zipped between the two men, and went for a third. Elrik hadn’t even tried to shoot at them - he’d been holding his aim steady on one of the four other ambushers surrounding Sakka.

The man wasn’t watching Elrik - he never saw the bolt coming. It caught the him in the face, punching through his cheek, just as he was about to thrust a spear at Sakka.

What happened next with Sakka, Elrik didn’t know or see. He’d done his part. He just hoped he’d helped Sakka.

Elrik let the crossbow fall to the ground and rapidly started backing away, taking the spear in both hands.

He only had eyes for the two ambushers coming for him now. They rushed at him, snarling, the second his crossbow bolt zipped by them. Elrik backed away and into the bushes behind him in three quick steps, stepping high and over. They were close behind him, jumping into the thicket a heartbeat after.

Step three worked almost too well.

The tripwire Elrik had tied, hidden just behind the bushline, caught both of them as they rushed him, and sent them sprawling when they rushed in. Neither of them expected the tripwire - a bit of bowstring from the archer’s pack - that Elrik had set up before coming out of cover.

Elrik turned immediately and stabbed down with the spear. In one smooth miraculously lucky move, the spearhead went straight into the helpless fallen ambusher’s neck. The spear tip pierced his throat. Blood flowed as the attacker choked, dying.

Elrik pulled, but the spear head was caught on the armor, at the crook of his neck - refusing coming out. Adrenaline and blood pumped through Elrik as he wrenched at the spear again helplessly. It was caught fast - stuck.

Ah. Shite

The rock - that the other tripped ambusher had grabbed and swung in a blind panic - caught Elrik on the side of the head.

“Kasi!” in the distance he heard Sakka’s shout

And everything went black