Desperate Retreat

The giant boar grunted as it perked up its ears and swept its vicious eyes towards Aayla. She froze in place, desperately trying to stop her shivers. The beast began to paw at the ground, as if it was preparing to charge. There was no way for her to fight that thing and survive. Should she start running now? Or she should risk it all instead by pretending to get hit and die?

Aayla cursed under her breath. She was not going to get far in the snowbanks, but if Aayla went onto the road then the boar would have a straight shot. Then Aayla realized that no matter if she was on the road or in the forest the northern glacial boar would plow through everything.

A frightened animalistic scream rang out across through the forest. The pack mules and Captain Figgins' horse had survived and dug themselves out of the snow. Violently tremoring from the cold, they could barely move. The pack mules were a little better and already scattered.

Unwilling to let prey escape, the boar changed its direction and charged. The pack mules screamed in terror and ran off faster than the wind. The tremoring horse was ignored as the beast pursued the livelier prey.

Aayla began to shakily run back to the city along the road before she realized that the return trip was a fifteen-miles long. With these icy conditions, that could take her hours. She turned around. Hopefully that last horse could still move. Minutes were better than hours.

She could see the brown more swaying and tremoring as it stumbled across the snow. Aayla slowed down and calmly walked towards the horse. The horse warily eyed her. She reached back into her backpack, only to find that the contents were frozen solid. Aayla awkwardly looked at the horse.

"Hey buddy. Sorry, but it looks like I don't have any treats for you. I need to check your bridle and saddle, really quickly. Then, I would like to hitch a ride back to Forest Waypoint, okay?"

Her heart was hammering in her chest. Furious squeals accompanied falling trees in the distance. Who knew when that monster would come back? Was that an average magical beast? No wonder the people here were so afraid of animals in general.

She slowly rubbed the horse's head with her trembling hands to calm it. Fear, pain and tiredness mired its beautiful eyes. When Aayla reached for the bridle, the horse instantly pulled its head away.

"It's alright, buddy. I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to take a look. That's it. Just a look."

Aayla's pale face drained even further of color when she finally saw the bridle. No wonder the horse was keeping its mouth shut. The metal bits of the bridle seemed to be flash frozen to the horse's flesh. The saddle was a little better, but some pieces cracked under her touch. She couldn't ride the horse like this. Should she risk riding bare back?

The enthusiastic roars and terrified shrieks in the distance quickly swayed her. As gently as possible, Aayla removed what she could off of the horse. Only snorts or small whines escaped the horse's nose and lips. Aayla calmly patted the horse again. Next, she removed her own backpack. There was no point in carrying that dead weight.

She glanced around the frozen forest again. No magical beast and no people. Living or dead. The roars in the distance deterred her from searching for survivors. Aayla was deeply ashamed, but with her shivering body and an unstable horse she might not save herself.

Aayla calmly guided the horse to the road. She gave the clearing one last look for others. Gears whirred in her mind as she desperately thought of her next move. They were moving too slowly. Perhaps she should ditch the horse and run as fast as she could.

If only Aayla had something to help in this situation. She smacked herself on her forehead. Of course! Aayla had magic now. She would not tell Ramona that she forgot about magic. Nope. Not at all. How does one transfer mana again?

Aayla focused on the flow of mana throughout her body. She gently pushed her mana towards the palms of her hands. The mana just sat in her hands for several seconds. Aayla ruffled her brows. For the next part, she just pushes it towards the horse, right?

The mana slowly diffused into the horse, startling it. Its dark eyes stared at her for several seconds. Deciding to trust Aayla for their shared survival, the horse started to absorb the mana. Aayla's trembling got worse as the horse's got better.

When the horse was stable enough to ride, Aayla scrambled on. She firmly wrapped her hands around the horse's neck and continued to supply a trickle of mana to the horse. Aayla closed her eyes to concentrate. The frozen wind whipped her face as the horse sped up to a gallop.

At this pace, this trip should take them about fifteen or twenty minutes. That was plenty of time for the beast to catch up. She poured in more of her mana. The roars slowly disappeared. However, several minutes later more echoed from a distance, signaling the return of the northern glacial boar.

The mana in Aayla's body was running out. Aayla kept her eyes shut and mentally reached out for the mana in the atmosphere. She pulled in as much as she could, processed it as fast as she could then passed it on to the horse as soon as she could. In its defense, the horse also increased its pace when it heard the roars behind them.

Several more minutes passed. The roars behind them quickly grew louder and louder. Aayla frowned and opened her eyes into a slit. She couldn't tell how much farther they had left, but they should only have about two or three miles left. They didn't go the wrong way, did they?

The squeals grew more distinct. Aayla didn't dare to turn her head for fear of falling of the horse. The horse tensed beneath her. They kept running straight ahead without bothering with anything else. Both knew what would happen to them if that monster caught up with them.

The horse gleefully neighed just a few more minutes later. Aayla saw some dark blurs on the side of the road, but couldn't make them out. She thought that she heard some shouting too. They must have reached the home stretch.

Just then Aayla felt a chill run down her spine. She turned her head and gasped. Spears of ice were shooting towards them. Aayla jabbed her right leg against the horse.

"TURN RIGHT! TURN!" she screamed.

As if sensing her desperation, the horse mustered one final burst of strength as it sharply turned to the right. The spears missed, but the horse lost its footing and slipped. Aayla tumbled to the ground. Dazed, Aayla tried to regain her breath the ground. The horse quickly picked itself up and limped off, leaving her behind.

By the time that Aayla noticed, the horse was long gone. An excruciating pain ripped through her left shoulder. Aayla winced and hissed as she staggered to her feet. The front gate was only about four hundred feet away! Soldiers poured out of the side gates as the main one slammed shut.

They were yelling something, but her ears were ringing too loudly to listen.

"Lo.. …t! Be… yo..! … rn aro…!"

What were they saying? 'Lout beyond arrow'? No, wait! 'Look out, behind you, turn around'! That's what – Oh ****!

Aayla jumped to the side and looked behind her. The boar was less than 50 feet away. It seemed to glow with an eerie light. Her eyes widened in surprise and terror. When did that thing get so close?!

Too fast to escape. Too massive to stop. Too cruel for mercy. Tusks blocked the sides. Hooves and a bloody mouth blocked below. Its speed prevented a retreat. Only the sky was left open. Aayla rushed forward.

When she was a foot away, she grabbed its snout then jumped. Using the beast's nose as a pivot Aayla flipped onto its back. She grabbed its back like a koala bear on a eucalyptus tree.

The victorious roar of the wild boar was caught in its throat. A tiny squeak of surprise leaked out if its mouth. Eh? Where did the prey go? Where is the blood? The guts? The beast looked around in confusion as soldiers quietly surrounded it.

Aayla coughed and spit as she tried to get the copper taste out of her mouth. A sharp glint caught the corner of her eye. When she turned to get a better look, she saw the soldiers gathering around the boar. Aayla frantically yelled to get their attention.

"THIS BEAST IS MANA RESISTANT!"

Instantly, their demeanor changed from serious to angry. Mana resistance changes everything. The soldiers put some distance between themselves and the boar, but Aayla could still feel their hostility directed towards the boar. Ah, she wasn't going to get caught up in their attacks, was she?