Turning his head back to Inara, the ranger yelled, “Keep them going!”
Before pivoting away, he caught Adan’Karth’s dragon-like eyes. The Drake’s gaze held the ranger in place for a second, almost slowing the entire moment down. This was not how he wanted to say goodbye to his friend, a friend who had saved his life more than once and stuck with him through dark times regardless of the peril it had put him in. He hadn’t wanted to say goodbye at all. But he also wanted to thank Adan for gathering so many of his people, theirs a sacrifice that would echo through the eons.
The moment was broken when Kassian returned from his skirmish on the bridge and ushered the Drake along with the others. Asher found his focus again and quickly planned his route back into the thick of it all. With no room to run, he was forced to jump from standing still, a leap that only just saw him grab hold of the broken beam in front of him.
His legs hanging, the ranger shimmied across until he could grasp the rope that was long enough to take him down to the next bridge. Applying his weight to the rope increased the strain on the broken beam. Inevitably, the wood snapped at one end and swung to the side of the shaft, taking Asher with it. Whether it was luck or fate - neither of which the ranger particularly cared for - he swung down perfectly in line with the surrounding walkway and half a dozen Reavers.
Raising both of his feet, he rammed into one of the fiends and slammed it against the wall of the pit. A strong shove pushed another Reaver back and gave the ranger the time he needed to retrieve the silvyr short-sword from over his shoulder. He met the first blade swung at his head with a two-handed parry. The silvyr bit into the Reaver’s steel, weakening the whole sword. Asher’s counterattack was more than enough to shatter the blade and continue through the side of the fiend’s head.
The remaining five rushed towards the ranger, but the width of the walkway restricted them to two at a time. Asher dispatched the first pair with experienced efficiency, his shorter blade easily finding the gaps in his enemies’ attacks. The three bringing up the rear posed no threat at all thanks to Inara and Kassian who, between them, created a frenzy of slashing steel. The Keeper was unlucky enough to be caught across the arm by one of the Reavers, though he still managed to lift his blade without issue.
“Keep moving!” Asher urged them all.
Following the walkway down and round, the ranger stole a glance up the shaft. The handful of Reavers who hadn’t crashed down to the lower depths were being slain by the elves and dwarves, preventing them from attacking the Drakes from the rear.
With Inara and Kassian behind him, the ranger led the advance into the darkness below. He darted out across a connecting bridge and met the cluster of undead fiends homing in on their procession. Ducking under the first blade, Asher shoved the Reaver back, into Inara’s waiting swing. The tip of his silvyr short-sword plunged through the narrow visor of the next and sliced neatly through the creature’s head. Displaying her heritage, Inara moved past him to challenge the remaining Reavers, a touch of fury to her fighting style.
Firefly spun, slashed, and hacked the fiends to pieces in seconds, freeing Asher to leap over the rail and catch the edge of a platform with his hands. The ranger swung his legs forward and dropped down onto another bridge, bringing him side by side with Nathaniel. Mimicking old times, the two warriors fell into a battle routine that complemented the other.
The last Reaver to face them succeeded in batting Nathaniel’s blade aside before landing a solid fist into hiss face, a blow that nearly saw him topple over the rail. Asher lunged to his friend’s aid and reached out to pull him back from the rail.
“Watch your back!” Faylen’s warning preceded her scimitar. The fine blade swept through the incoming Reaver’s chest, staggering the fiend enough to keep it at bay.
Asher turned on his heel and added his attack to the High Guardian’s, ending the threat altogether.
A little further down the bridge, Reyna was proving herself the best archer in the realm. Her enchanted bow, though a long-range weapon, did not hinder the elf when it came to close quarter combat. Between her powerful kicks and martial prowess, often intertwined with the use of her bow’s deadly limbs, Reyna would launch her arrows with pinpoint accuracy. Never once did the chaos or threat of death stop her from taking the shot and bringing down a Reaver.
At the end of the bridge, Kassian was driving his sword through an enemy in a bid to keep it away from Adan and the others. He tilted his head at the last moment and evaded the swing of another blade by less than an inch. It seemed that even without magic the Keeper was a more than proficient fighter, a fact that elevated the man in Asher’s eyes.
Inara dropped down between Kassian and her mother and hurried to the Keeper’s side. Asher gave Faylen a nod of thanks and joined the others in aiding the Drakes. Continuing down, the companions were regularly forced to split up, taking to the adjoining walkways, bridges, and platforms that the Reavers attacked from. It pained Asher every time one of the fiends made it past their defence and killed a Drake, but they were dealing with a large force and reinforcements were stuck behind the hundreds of Drakes.
“Look!” Reyna shouted, directing them to the very bottom of the pit.
Asher rammed his short-sword up and through his opponent’s head before pausing to look over the rail.
