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'Where did they get horses?' Alaron blinked, trying to remember if he had seen any. 'They must have been tied off somewhere else.' The Guardian remembered the wagon. Something needed to pull it around. And now that something was thundering toward him.

The Guardian muttered angrily as he pressed into his inhuman strength. His speed increased significantly. Although no regular human would be able to catch him now, a horse was a different matter.

One of the riders had certainly spotted him, and was coming in fast. Braving a glance, Alaron found the horse would be coming alongside him on the left at any moment. Millard wielded a sword in his right hand, ready to lop off the head of the hooded figure.

'No trophy for you!' Alaron jogged suddenly to his right and rushed between two trees growing narrowly together.

The horse could not correct its angle fast enough, scraping Millard's leg against the rough bark. The man cried out, slashing his sword down as he passed the other side of the trunk where he thought Alaron would be.

However, the space was empty. Millard looked around in confusion. Where had he gone?

The thin man realized too late that he had fallen prey to the same trick twice. For before he could lift his eyes upward, a body slammed against his, throwing him from the horse.

In his delusions of grandeur, Alaron envisioned mounting the steed and riding to safety. Alas it was not meant to be. The Guardian was able to keep balanced on the stallion for four long strides before the loyal beast realized that something was amiss.

It reared back and threw the cloaked figure to the ground, with a snort. Then the beast swiveled and reared back again, this time attempting to stomp him like a beetle. Its move was lightning fast like a well trained warhorse.

Unable to roll due to a tree trunk, Alaron barely pulled a shield from his cloak in time to stop the hooves from crashing down and squashing his head. The pressure of the horse on the broad surface pressed the Guardian into the ground, threatening to flatten him. Alaron's arms and chest screamed in pain under the strain.

'Blasted horse!'

With all the strength he had, Alaron shifted the shield to one side so that one edge touched the ground, forcing the horse to slide off of the polished surface.

Unwilling to give up, the stallion reared back once more. This time the Guardian was ready. He dismissed the shield and prepared for the next attack.

Pressing his body as close as he could to the tree, Alaron stood against the solid trunk. The cloaked figure barely missed the first metal shoe of the horse, which nearly grazed his nose. The second was only a second behind the first, and was much better aimed--at the crown of the man's skull.

With catlike reflexes, Alaron ducked under the second hoof and dashed to the side. He did not have to turn to hear the metallic scrape of the shoe against the bark of the tree or the animalistic grunt as the massive body collided with the stalwart oak. Not that he had time to look back as he ran. Already two more riders had spotted him.

They came at him from opposing directions, a man with a sword and a woman with a spiked ball on a stick. "Over here!" the woman called for anyone within earshot. Behind him, Millard had finally made up some ground and was pursuing him on foot.

"Great," Alaron groaned. "Enemies on three sides." He slowed his jog and veered slightly to the left, aiming for the gap that was dead center between the two incoming horses. It was clear they meant to intercept him as he ran toward them. And with Millard now behind him, what choice did he really have to escape except forward?

With his slower pace, Millard was gaining on him. It seemed the thin man had good legs for running. The way the Guardian was running, the three enemies would collide on him at the same moment, causing him to have to fight a three way battle. That is if he survived the first onslaught.

Alaron could feel Millard behind him, nearly breathing down his neck, yet he had to concentrate. This was not the time to panic, it was the time to... 'Now!'

The Guardian's eyes flashed silver as he pressed into his speed once more.

"No you don't!" Millard lunged to try to catch the man's hood, only to receive a vicious shock down his arm as the magical garment protested. The thin man jerked his hand away as his eyes opened wide. With his final lunge, the two horses that should have hit Alaron were now aimed directly at him.

The equines tried to avoid the collision, but their determined riders had not allowed them the chance and so they trampled the tall man as they rammed into one another. The force of the crash caused the woman to lose control of her mace. The ball flew wildly and landed against the other rider's unprotected shoulder in a bone-crunching hit.

'That sounded painful,' Alaron tried not to gloat, but was proud that his plan had paid off. He had envisioned them as the incoming rams that he had practiced with so many times before. 'Be ready for anything.'

The woman's cry had alerted some of the others, but they were further away. If Alaron hurried, he might just make it to the river in time.

--------------------------

Mairwen, Renat and Eira waited patiently by the riverbank. They had let the horses drink and rest and had also had a drink and a little food themselves. Time was slipping away as was the sun.

"What could be keeping him?" the princess scanned the trees anxiously.

"I am sure he is just being thorough. He wouldn't want to make an incomplete report." Renat was also becoming anxious, but he knew one of them must keep a level head.

Mairwen twisted her long dark hair around her finger absentmindedly. "I shouldn't have let him go alone."

"There is no way you could have gone with him without risking his safety," Eira piped in, knowing that Renat saying such a thing might cause a lovers' quarrel.

Mairwen huffed, though she could not argue with the point. She stood from the ground and began to pace. "Then I shouldn't have let him go at all!"

"If you haven't noticed by now, you cannot control your brother. He makes his own choices the same as you." Hoping to calm his wife, he came alongside her and wrapped his arms around her waist. The princess stopped pacing and melted into his embrace. She inhaled deeply.

"I cannot just stay here." Mairwen stroked her husband's cheek; her beautiful face was marked with a somber expression. She pulled away from the scientist and mounted her horse. "I must go after him."

"You can't!" Renat exclaimed. He also mounted his horse, as did Eira.

"You yourself said we make our own choices..." the princess was cut off by her exasperated husband.

"You can't go after him because he is running this way!" The man pointed to a cloaked figure rushing through the trees, his voice barely audible.

"Get across the river!" he yelled repeatedly.

At first they did not understand his warning, but then they spotted the eight or so horses that were thundering not far behind him.

"We need to help him!" Mairwen cried, readying her horse to jump into the fray when the female soldier blocked her.

"You want to help him? Get across the water quickly, and you can help him with your bow." Eria urged her mistress forward with Renat taking up the rear.

"Get across!" Alaron repeated more clearly this time as he neared.

The river was wide and flowing quickly, but a small earthen dam supported by sticks and logs provided a makeshift bridge. Had the group not gone off the main road to avoid being followed, they could have found a more suitable crossing. And if they had had more time, they could have tried fording the river with their horses, as the beasts were excellent swimmers.

However, since time was of the essence, they made the hasty decision to cross the footbridge with their horses. Alaron's horse trotted riderless across, but even its lessened weight strained the earthen barrier. Pieces of the dam sheared off, but it stayed mostly in tact.

"Hurry, Princess!" Eira called.

Mairwen swallowed and then clicked her heels. Her mare ran swiftly across, whinnying at the shifting ground. The dam groaned as part of it began to sink.

With Renat unwilling to budge until the women were across, Eira followed after the princess. Again the walkway shifted and groaned. It had never been constructed to carry a horse and now it had carried three. The scientist eyed the structure knowing the odds were not in his favor. He only hoped luck was on his side.

With a running start, he pushed his horse forward and raced across the sinking barrier. Snaps and splintering accompanied the water's gurgling sound as the man and steed made their journey. The horse faltered, tumbling into the water just before reaching the second bank.

"Renat!" Mairwen gasped. She ran over to the man as he exited with his unhappy horse, both of whom were sopping wet.

"I'm fine," he told her with a weak smile. "But it's not...."

The thin dam groaned one last time as the rushing water pressed against the weakened structure.

Then it collapsed entirely.