Eiyuu Kishi Den

Estas felt crippled without the ability to turn to the spirits, but he grit his teeth and swung his sword. As the bandits closed in around the group, four men focused on him as he defended the door on his side of the carriage. They were fast, and he was lacking in room, as his swing came down on the one in front of him, the human blocked and the other two took the opportunity to strike, but Estas still had his elven agility. The elf sprung up, using the blade that blocked his blow for leverage, and he launched himself over the head of the man in front of him. Though he left the wagon door exposed, he believed that they would be focused on bringing him and his companions down before looting.

After that maneuver, the brigands shared a look that conveyed that they would need to put all their skills to use to bring down this elf. They still seemed confident in their deadly skill, and wordlessly, they ran at Estas and began a tri-sided attack that would test the limit of high elf's skill... These were no ordinary roadside highwaymen.

Though still recovering from her luck spell, Sairina soldiered on to cast a rack spell as the caravan was engaged. "Holy Cha Za, curse these evildoers! Destroy the luck of those that would do us harm," the priestess prayed. There was chaos surrounding her, but she held herself together, using her faith as an anchor too keep the terror from overwhelming her. Perhaps the adrenaline would serve to fuel her spells as well...

As the bandits moved in, Kitsa took a fighting stance as two men approached her. She feared her ability to fight two men at the same time with only one sword. In her previous battles against pirates and other threats to her home village, she usually picked off combatants with her bow, and if it came to melee, she generally fought one on one, and with a much larger group of allies. However, she did have one trick up her sleeve; she had drawn a throwing dagger that had been hidden in the back of her belt and flung it at one of the two bandits, aiming for his face. With a good century of practice with aim, she trusted her shot, though any gusts of wind could be a concern.

The dagger sunk into the bandit's eye though, which came as even a shock to Kitsa, until she realized that Cha Za was on their side. Her daggers had been blessed back in Raiden, and Sairina had cast her luck and rack spells. With that realization, Kitsa gained her confidence. The remaining bandit stopped in his tracks as his comrade fell, but after giving him a quick glance, he turned his attention back to Kitsa and charged. The quarter-elf parried his initial strike, and thus began a duel, much more on par with Kitsa's skills.

Phaeton stood ready as the bandits approached, and with his axes in hand, he fought as fiercely as they did. He and they were tribal warriors, and though their actions were less than honorable, they were still hardened survivors, as was he, a native of the Wildlands. As one of the strongest fighters for the caravan, the bandits sent their two strongest in what they believed would be a certain victory after him. As they fought, Phaeton managed to make a few lucky strikes thanks to the blessings of Cha Za, though he did have a few wounds of his own to show for it. Yet, with luck on his side, the wounds were minor, and did little more than sting.

Finally, with one good swing, his right axe was buried in the chest of one of his foes, felling the man instantly. As the bandit fell, Phaeton found his axe wedged quite tightly in the man's chest, and ended up falling with him. However, thinking quickly, he was able to turn and block an incoming blow from the other combatant with his left hand. Abandoning one of his axes for now, he rolled away as the bandit lifted his blade again, then he drew one of his hunting knives from his belt to continue the battle.

~Whisper~

Leaning close to the ground, her fingers traced the fresh tracks in the sand lightly, enough to get the scent on the gloves. It didn't take much to track things in the desert as long as you kept close enough for the wind not to cover things back up. However, her prey outnumbered her, so she had to keep enough distance so that they didn't notice a tail. Stroking her companion's black fur, she placed her fingers next to Gaav's nose, letting the large dog take in the scent. When the beast growled, she felt the typical hatred for humans through an empathic bond, as well as blood thirst. It meant she was closer than she was before, and judging by these tracks, they were stalking something themselves. From beneath the cowl, she heard the tell tale signs of a struggle in the distance. Likely another caravan, and likely more victims. But, they'd slow down, and maybe their leader would bare his throat while camped, at least long enough for her to tear it out.

As she came upon a crest in the sand dunes, she could see the battle a bit more clearly. Surprisingly enough, it was a true fight. The bandits were fairly well trained, and most merchant guards would be quickly dispatched, but whoever these people were, they were holding their own. A deep hatred rose in the empathic bond, and looking down upon several of the individuals, she could see why. This type of hatred only occurred when someone was directly showing hostilities toward her, or an elf. Some of the people down in the caravan were elves, some were half, and Gaav wanted to kill them all the more now. "What do you think?"

A slight whimper was her only response, but there was a feeling of sympathy. Taking out her weapon, a self made bow, she knotched one of the quivers and took aim. At this distance, a normal archer wouldn't feel they would even be able to make the distance, but Whisper had full confidence her arrow would hit the mark. I'm not used to sharing a hunt, but perhaps this is the opportunity I've been waiting for.

"Kill!" She hissed, letting an arrow fly. For the elves fighting below, a sense of sylph being summoned occurred briefly, although nothing more than a slight twinge, and a few seconds later, an arrow lodged itself into the back of Kitsa's attacker, piercing his throat, a soundless scream leaving his lips before falling over dead. Whisper then began her own assault, unfortunately not having more than a second to pick her targets, Gaav, meanwhile, began to run towards the caravan. The feeling of blood lust was now mutual, the thrill of the hunt had reached its peak, and only shedding the blood of her prey would sate it.

Kitsa blocked and skipped back instinctually at the sudden strike on her opponent. As the man fell forward into the sand, she saw the arrow sticking out of his back. As her eyes moved up from the kill, she saw a cloaked woman and a dog approaching the caravan. Any ally, or another enemy? Kitsa wondered. However, she didn't have time to ask questions, her comrades were still embattled, and she could bother to deal with this woman when she saw her actions. All of the remaining bandits seemed to be engaged with her comrades, but Kitsa held her position for now, ready to step in and defend anyone else who needed help.

Orion took no battle stance. His hand dropped to one of his daggers, only hanging on it by the crook of his thumb. His face changed to a placid, disinterested expression. Every muscle relaxed. While men charged, eager to kill, he appeared to be waiting in a line for something not worth his time. The men got closer and there was no change. The only thing on him that moved was his hair, catching gusts of wind left over from the storm.

He wouldn't know what happened. Orion had watched his every step, saw when he raised his sword, how it was angled, where the downswing would be. By the time the raider reached Orion, his dagger was out and past the offensive strike. In that same, singular motion, his blade found a far better target: the throat. The momentum of the man carried him to the sand, half-running. The trick only worked once per fight, but it always worked. From then on, they would all know what to look for.

Pulling up his second knife, he readied for his next attacker.