Operation Witless (Tyran POV) part4

Okay, keep calm. They haven't done anything yet. Maybe that bandit lord guy is just cautious? Nah, mind game? Maybe he thinks we're up to something?

Damn is this nerve racking.

I sighed, little more than a release of breath as I carefully watched the bandits walking at the foot of the hillock. What to do? Action! That's what needed to happen, but it was solidly not in our advantage.

What can we do here? We've essentially allowed ourselves to be surrounded. But I doubt that a series of running battles would let us come out the victor here. So what could I do? What could Liz do? Wait...

What would she do in this case, I only knew she would have done something to remedy this situation.

Well, she wouldn't have even allowed herself to be surrounded. She would have kept moving... forward. An idea, terrible and risky took root in my mind. No, it was bold! Daring and bold. I grabbed my runner and was about to rush to Liz's position when her runner stumbled into my own.

The man was panting, having sprinted over the rough terrain, and apparently having fallen several times in his haste as his knees and arms were covered in cuts and scrapes. "Tyran! Our lady suddenly charged down the hillside!"

"Huh?" I stared at the runner blankly. Had she read my mind? No, the npc's couldn't do that... at least I hoped they couldn't. Oh, this was where she developed her tactical genius!

I marveled at my sudden realization. As much as it had pained me to not rejoin my original server, I knew now that this was the right choice. If I could at least create an environment where she wasn't immediately hostile to players, I could consider it a success. But that required her staying alive!

"Shit! Charge!" I roared leaping over the trench I'd been spending the past few hours behind. Much to everyone else's credit they quickly followed me down the hill. The small group at the foot of the hill were rather quickly overrun, and slaughtered easily. But where now?

"Forward and to the right!" I shouted. The answer was simple really, we'd just link up with Liz and hope that combined we could deal with whoever tried to kill us. Oh boy, I loved this more by the second!

I gritted my teeth, I was a tactician damnit! Planing subtle maneuvers and executing them from within my command staff was how I had managed before. This style, leading from the front...

I quickly hacked apart the bandit that appeared in front of me, using the corpse as a shield to charge at the next one. I threw his former comrade at him and as he tried to evade ran him through with my sword. I looked around me for the next foe, adrenaline fueling me. Similar scenes of the bandits not having expected our attack and being completely overwhelmed played out as far as I could see.

We continued our rush, afterall. There seemed to be a never ending amount of bandits. My arms burned, as if fire had replaced the blood circulating in my veins. I gritted my teeth further with every step forward. My blade described great arcs of blood whenever I struck a killing blow. I could feel my muscles straining to keep up with what I was demanding they do.

There! I could see some of Hadran's soldiers struggling to keep a hulking figure at bay. I cut down the bandit in my way and rushed forward. This is what we needed! To regroup and continue the attack!

"Did you think I would let you get away with this?" The hulking figure roared, wrestling a spear from one's hands and then spearing him on it.

Liz was clutching her side, barely holding onto her halberd. Blood was slowly seeping out between her fingers. Between her and the hulking figure stood a handful of her men, desperately trying to keep him back.

Well, so much for heroics. I slowed my approach, taking care not to create much noise. Ten yards, eight, seven, five. I readied my blade. He had already dispatched another of Liz's guards. They were shouting at her to fallback. Heh, that wasn't like her.

I could see the fiery determination in her eyes warring with the pain of the blow she had received. Once I was a yard behind the hulking figure I reached forward and put my hand on his shoulder.

"You dumb fuck." I said quietly as I drove my blade through his rib cage.