The Foolhardies 49 Rough Riders

"We'll talk later," I hissed in Collin's ear before I shoved him and his silver thread toward the elf soldier guarding the side of the lead wagon and told him to bring the prisoner back to the wagon where we stashed the other prisoners.

Then I got back up on my mount with less difficulty than I thought I would have. Obviously, I knew it wasn't thanks to my amateur riding skills. The swifthart was just intelligent enough to accommodate its new rider. If it kept impressing me like this, I was going to have to give it a name.

I looked quickly over to Aura and Qwipps, my brow furrowing in the seconds of hesitation it took me to say, "Aura, get everyone out of here. Take them to the rendezvous point... We'll hold the line."

Aura's eyebrows were knotted with worry. "We are supposed to stick together..."

"Don't worry... We'll be right behind you," thankfully, my voice didn't quiver when I spoke these words.

Aura held my gaze a second longer. Then she said in clear tone that was like a royal command, "You'd better be.

I nodded at her. Then I turned my eyes on Qwipps. "You and your squad are with me."

"Muddamit, I knew you'd say that, Dean," Qwipps said as he handed the reins of the Elken to Aura and jumped up to the roof of the wagon. "Oi, Qwipps' Talons, we're going to hold those buggers off."

"Go now, Aura," I ordered before I turned my swifthart around to face our rear. I patted its neck and leaned in close to its ear. "Ride as fast as you can, please... and keep me alive while you're at it."

As if understanding my words completely, the swifhart lept swiftly toward the rear in speeds I would have expected a sports car to have—from zero the sixty MPH in a split second.

While the scenery blurred around me, I managed one final order. I screamed at the top of my lungs, "Thom! Gather your gliders and follow me too!"

And we were off. One rough rider and nearly two dozen flyers—Qwipps' ten-man pixie squad and Thom's ten drow gliders—zoomed past the stolen supply caravan and back to the nearby hills we'd only just left behind.

My swifthart dashed through the grass like Ty's Camaro would have if someone other than Ty was behind the wheel. The cold wind prickled at the skin of my face as we continued to increase speed. The biting cold would have stung even more if the swifthart hadn't finally slowed down once it sensed the danger about to greet us.

"Oh, great fool, let me see the unseen that I might know the unknowable..." I whispered.

Since it was the second time I'd used Fool's Insight, I wondered how many more times I'd be able to call on the fairy gift this night before my eyesight went bad. I was sure the duration I could use it had increased since my dip into the mana well, but with all the running around, I was never able to gauge by just how much. this made its use a little more risky as the night was far from over. Still, I didn't really have a choice. I needed all the advantages I could get right now.

My vision warped into the enhanced perception that allowed me to see the most minuscule details in front of me, giving me the ability to predict and counter enemy attacks just by observing their movements.

The enemy was a mere twenty yards away. They numbered thirteen riders made up of half a dozen elves, three human viseres, and three hobgoblins. The lead rider was hooded and masked, but the grey cloak billowing behind it was common to Magesong clan commanders.

The masked rider reached down to its hip and unsheathed a curved shadowblade similar to the one Thom carried. It was a katana.

In response to this threatening action, I reached down to my own sword hilt, but I didn't pull out my falchion yet. I simply kept my hand there ready to unsheath it the moment we clashed.

The distance between us shortened to ten yards.

Behind me, I heard Qwipps cursing in a high-pitched tone. "Muddamit, Dean! Wait for us!"

The enemy was five yards away. My fingers tightened on my sword hilt. From my peripheral, I saw Thom's dark cloak as he glided to the right of me. Enna flew on my left.

I took a deep breath. Now was a time for action.

There was an audible humming sound coming out of the shadowblade when I unsheathed my falchion from its hilt scabbard using my favorite quick-draw style. Predictably, the buildup from the shadows as they rocketed out of the sword hilt increased the speed of my swing to double the force. Then I sent my arm snaking forward just in time to block the shadowblade aimed at my head.

Falchion clashed with katana as I and the masked rider passed each other. Although our swiftharts momentum kept them from halting so we could exchange a second blow, the short time we glanced at each other gave me enough insight to determine who my enemy was.

She was noticeably female as the blackened steel plate strapped to her chest was shaped to fit a woman's body. The full face mask she wore was ebony black and shaped into a woman's face like the ones worn in the early days of masquerades and carnivals. The hood covering her was black as night and didn't seem attached to the grey cloak billowing behind her. But it was the narrowing eyes half-hidden behind the mask that caught my attention. They were pale, almost white but had a shade of purple in their irises.

My last glimpse of the masked rider as she passed me was the katana hilt in her black-gloved hand. It was beautifully crafted, wrapped in a combination of black and golden silk threads.

Immediately, my suspicions were aroused. If she was what I thought she was, then something was definitely not right with this war.

It was too bad that I didn't have time to spend more brain cells on whatever plot might be afoot because my swifthart had continued forward and I was about to clash with more riders.
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There was a hobgoblin to my right with a curved blade wrapped in his hand. On my left was another generic blonde elf wielding a broadsword in both hands. Both their blades swung toward my upper body like a pair of scythes in a really dangerous obstacle course.

I dodged their combined attack by lying back as far down as I could, while at the same time, pulled my hidden shadowblade dagger from behind my belt. In the split second where their shadowblades swooshed over my head, I swung my falchion to the right while I sent the one-foot shadowblade of my dagger flying left.

Both shadowblades cut into the sides of my enemies as I passed them. Pained grunts erupted behind me. The thud of a body falling from a mounted position followed. Only one. I'd killed the hob thanks to the power of my falchion but my dagger probably hadn't damaged the elf enough to be fatal.

I spared a quick glance behind me to see how the elf was doing and discovered that I shouldn't have bothered worrying that he'd attack me from behind because Qwipps had just descended from above to steal my kill.

He slit the injured elf's throat with one of his new two-foot daggers and threw the dying body off his swifthart so Qwipps could steal it. Then he pulled on his new mount's reins to turn it around and follow me.

Further back, I caught a glimpse of the masked rider and Thom exchange katana blows.

Thom was blown back by the speed and force of her swing. He catapulted into the ground and skidded to a stop only after he'd kicked up enough grass and dirt to slow his momentum.

I had just enough time to be impressed with my enemy and inwardly wonder why she hadn't struck at me with the same force before another attacker reached me.

This lastest opponent was a burly human with muscles bulging tightly over his linen shirt. The only piece of armor I could see on him was the pair of metal shoulder guards that did nothing to protect his chest. So, while he swung his heavy-looking hammer at my head, I did the most obvious thing.

I dodged the direction of his swing, which I could clearly see thanks to my enhanced perception, and leaned forward while thrusting my falchion toward his unprotected front. There was the satisfying sound of the shadowblade sinking into the soft flesh. It was immediately followed by a deep baritone howl of pain.

My shadowblade came out of the hole it had made into my opponent's side. It wasn't enough to kill him but the gaping wound would make it very painful to stay mounted.

Qwipps and his stolen mount finally caught up to me.

"You're too soft, Dean," he commented while rolling his eyes at the same time. "How long are you going to uphold your no-killing-humans vow with Luca?"

"As long as I can," I answered with as much conviction as I could muster. I meant it too.

It was right about then that Qwipps and I cleared the formation of enemy riders. Behind us, I heard the flapping of pixie wings and the swooshing of drow cloaks. It looks like a lot more people had passed through. We would have to turn around again for a second clash. No doubt the enemy would do the same because it would be too difficult to chase after our caravan with my squad biting at their heels.

A quick count in my head told me that at least three enemies were down. Probably more if most of my people were able to pass through. In fact, I'd only seen Thom fall and I wasn't worried about him. He was too good a fighter to go down like that.

I began to feel confident that we would win this engagement without suffering losses. Then, as I was turning my mount around for a second clash, my eyes caught a glimpse of movement in the hills behind us, and my body went cold at the sight.

About a dozen or more soldiers in grey armor cleared the path between the hills. Half of them were mounted.

My heart sank at the sight of them because the implications of their arrival were obvious. Ashley's group had failed to hold the enemy back.

"Luca," I whispered.

And then, as if in answer to me calling his name, Luca, his electrum-grade scale mail drenched in dried blood, broke through the clearing in hot pursuit the new arrivals. His broadsword was raised high and he was mounted on a light green swifthart of his own.

Riding Beside Luca on a swifthart that was almost as pale as her white dress was Ashley. Seated behind Ashley, with her arms wrapped around the shieldmaiden's stomach, was Varda.

Behind them, his long strides nearly putting him at pace with their swiftharts, was the massive form of the half-ogre Edo.

Further behind Edo, running as fast as they could despite the heavy bronze shields strapped behind them, were the soldiers who made up Ashley's squad.

"Hot damn! the cavalry's here!" Qwipps said excitedly.

Yeah," I said in subdued happiness.

I turned my mount around feeling my heartrate subside back into regular levels. There was no need to worry about the enemy behind us. Luca and the rest of his group would deal with it. My focus was needed elsewhere.

I raised my falchion forward and in the direction of the enemy riders who'd just turned around for a second engagement.

"Ready for round two," I said.

Then, with one hand tight on my swifthart's reins and the other hand gripping tightly on my falchion's sword hilt, I charged.

Chapter end