He hadn't believed it at first, but what Hamond saw once they were outside left little doubt. Someone was attacking the village.

If it was simply a fire outbreak, the villagers would have stayed to carry water from wells and fight the blaze. With them fleeing instead, it meant the question now was who was attacking the village, and why. It was unlikely due to anything they had done, although Hamond admitted he could not rule it out.

"This way!" Myron gestured, indicated they should follow along with the villagers. Hamond followed, knowing there was no time to plan out anything. All they could do is run for it.

At least his head was clearer than it had been before. The time spent resting, however short, had helped Hamond somewhat. From what he could tell, Edeline had also had slept a bit too, and she had no problems keeping pace. Still, it'd be best if they avoided fighting, since he couldn't be sure if he wouldn't collapse a second time.

Nela meanwhile had put herself in charge of Hudde's daughter. Jelinia was managing to stay with them, although the young girl seemed short of breath. Too short, honestly, but stopping was not an option.

In a bit of grim amusement, Hamond noted the path they were running down was the road they had followed into Verdan. No doubt going further away from Kelshir was unplanned. It was better than getting caught up in whatever was happening back there, he noted as he glanced back over his shoulder.

Looking back up the road with perfect timing, as a trio of armored figures emerged from the brush. They had to be knights of some variety, most likely of the Aetheric Order. Well, that should mean safety. The villagers slowed down, milling about in confusion a couple of hex paces in front of the armed men.

One of the villagers, bumped by another, stumbled forward and fell to his knees. One of the knights was upon him swiftly, cutting him down with a single vicious swing of his blade. Hamond froze, realizing what that meant. The knights were the ones attacking.

The other knights strode forward as well, swords readied as the villagers scattered.

Letting out a pained gasp, Jelinia fell down to her knees. The girl clearly had gone as far as she could, and needed a moment before they could go again. Which they did not have, because those knights would soon turn their attention to them.

Hamond spun, intending to ask Myron to pick up and carry Jelinia. He stopped, seeing that Myron had already drawn his sword. So it was to be a fight then, Hamond supposed.

"I'll clear the path through. Get ready to run." Myron's voice was low and grave.

Hamond was tempted to propose they use spells instead, but he knew better. There could be other knights nearby, and the slightest sign of thaumaturgy would lead to an alarm being raised. Swords it was then, making him essentially useless for this fight.

Myron advanced, finally drawing the gaze of the attackers. Two of them moved to meet him, raising their shields in unison. There was something both haunting and impressive about how the pair did not say a word, yet were in perfect coordination.

Both thrust forward with their blades, keeping their shields up. Myron sidestepped around one of the knights, around the right one's shield, and stabbed. The man's legs gave out, and Myron kicked him back into his companion as he pulled his sword free.

Before the other man could recover, Myron was upon him, driving the sword in under the man's arm. There had to be some sort of weakness or gap in their armor, Hamond realized as the second man collapsed. Straightening up, Myron looked in their direction, and froze.

"Behind-" Hamond started to say. The third knight was drawing closer, and Myron was paying no heed.

The surprisingly loud sound of Nela's crossbow being fired interrupted him. The man stopped for a moment, then dropped, grabbing at his neck. A perfectly accurate shot if ever there was one.

"You awake?" Nela lowered the crossbow, giving Myron a confused look.

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Myron didn't say a word, but instead pointed down the path back to the village.

Striding down the path towards them, still some distance away, was a glowing golden figure. From what details Hamond could make out, it resembled a massive suit of armor that was taller than any man he'd seen. The figure held a sword, shining with the same glow, in one hand. Hamond felt himself shaking, realizing what this meant.

The knights...had...a thaumaturge.

The knights had a thaumaturge.

"Now can we run?" Nela's voice was barely above a whisper, pale face showing she was clearly trying - and not succeeding - at hiding her own fear. Hamond felt the same. They were not in a position to openly fight an unknown thaumaturge. Not here. Not now.

To his side, Hamond saw Edeline take a hesitant step forward. "Don't," he managed to say to her. Don't be stubborn now of all times, he silently pleaded. Please.

Edeline met his gaze with a conflicted one of her own. After a far too long moment, she let out a breath, and turned away from the village and the advancing threat.

Nela took the hand of the still panting Jelinia, and they were off and running again. Hamond had to admit he was starting to get fatigued again. No time to let that slow them down, though.

A rustling sound from the nearby brush was the only warning they got. Hamond barely evaded the extended blade of one of the two more men that burst out onto the path. The other had targeted Myron, who had deflected the attack before falling back into a fighting stance.

A stinging feeling in his shoulder forced Hamond to correct himself. The sword had grazed him up on his arm as he had tried to get out of the way. Better than getting stabbed in the chest, but it still hurt.

The knight came at him again, only for Edeline to parry the slice with the flat of her own sword. She followed up with a slice of her own. While the man didn't have a shield to guard that side, it didn't matter as her sword bounced off the man's armor. Edeline then stepped back, avoiding a sweeping blow that only cut the air.

Edeline swung yet again. This time, the knight caught her blade in one gauntleted hand. As Edeline tried to pull it free, he brought his weapon around in an arc, clearly aiming to cut her down.

Nela got there first. "Doroneiroi."

The man fell backwards, his weakened swing passing right in front of where Edeline stood.

"And that's what you get." Nela snorted.

Hamond looked over to see that Myron had already dealt with the other one. He immediately regretted it, as the motion sent a sharp surge of pain through his arm. So this is what a sword wound feels like, Hamond noted to himself.

It hurt. A lot.

"Let me see that." Nela had noticed his injury. In an instant she was beside him, pulling up his sleeve to inspect the wound.

"We don't have time," Myron said, looking back down the road. Hamond didn't have to turn to know that thaumaturge was still approaching.

Nela shot Myron a frustrated stare. "Since when did my healing take that long?" Not bothering to wait for him to answer, she put one hand on Hamond's wound. "Panakeia logos."

Hamond had experimented a little when he was teaching himself healing, so he did know how the spell felt. Still, the relief following the tingle of the spell was surprisingly quick, as the slice closed. It was a clear reminder that compared to what he knew of healing spells, Nela was far more skilled and experienced.

"Thank you," Hamond said, facing them. He had to suppress a smile as he saw Jelinia staring awestruck at Nela. He wasn't the only one impressed with Nela's healing skills, it would seem.

Edeline grunted. Hamond looked to see her bent over, lifting her blade from the ground. She must still be feeling poor if she'd dropped it.

"You alright?" Nela asked, a concerned look on her face.

"I'm...fine." Edeline rose with a labored sigh, and sheathed her sword. Even if it left them short a fighter, Hamond figured it was for the best that she didn't try to fight more in her condition. His head was starting to throb again as well, so he wasn't going to be of much help either.

"Let's go," Myron added, keeping his eyes on the figure advancing down the road. "We don't want to get caught out in the open."

Wait a moment. While they were on this path, they were indeed out in the open. They were...visible to the...

"We need to get off the road," Hamond told them. He should have thought of it sooner. They were making it far too easy to follow.

"Right," Myron said, eyes widening with the same realization. He turned away from the threat. "This way!"

Breaking into a sprint, they ran off the road into the brush. Having to push through trees and such made for slower going, but Hamond knew that getting out of sight was the best option they had. Just as he thought that, a branch from a tree swung back and glanced off the top of his head.

Maybe he should've reconsidered this.

Finally, after making it some distance, Jelinia's legs gave out again. While she took a moment to recover, Hamond surveyed the area. He couldn't see the glow of that magic wielding knight's spell from here. Hopefully, that meant whoever it was had given up the pursuit.

"You think we lost him?" Myron asked, also looking around, still wary.

"I...hope...we did." Edeline was also short of breath, and Hamond couldn't deny he was winded too.

"Sunset isn't that far off," Nela said, "Think we should find a place to set up for the night soon?"

"I'd rather get some more distance between us and the village first," Myron answered.

"Agreed," Hamond added, "After a moment...to catch our breaths, of course."