I put all of my skills to use as I carefully squirmed through the undergrowth. Most people thought I was in the larger trees near the back of the cliff above the houses, but I was about as close to the wall as I thought I was allowed. I was being secretive simply because I didn't want anyone to realize I was here.
I looked around. Some other people were on the other side of the cliff also waiting to see if the bandits were going to react to the trap. Most were below following various pursuits or tasks. Nathan was on the wall on guard duty. He wore his heavy Raider gear that he had brought from Wainwright and carried a big crossbow.
Trish was in the weaving room with her bag of wool. It would take her a few hours to spin it all. I had told her I was going to go play in the trees on top of the cliff before I left, so she wouldn't be looking for me. I had taken the time to make sure that she saw me carrying a math textbook. The book had just been a decoy.
Trish hated math and would be thinking that I would either play or study by myself for a bit. I didn't carry my backpack inside the cliff, so I had hidden the textbook under a bush near the ladder. Only a couple had seen me go up the ladder and they weren't any of the ones who may follow to play or come to talk. No one would be looking for me for at least a few hours.
I raised my binoculars and took a good look at the bandit camp. The details were clear since I was only about a kilometer from the wall. I had been this close with Diane that one morning with the catapult, but I hadn't taken time to look at the smaller details.
They looked really, really bored. Quite a few were napping, but they were ready for a surprise attack or a zombie. They all wore armor of some sort and had weapons close by. A couple had helmets with an odd green thing in front of one eye. I peered closer, it looked like a mini binoculars, but it was meant for just one eye. It was green. I had never seen green lens in binoculars before. Maybe they were supposed to be some sort of camouflaged variety.
I glanced above my binoculars before pointed them towards the forest. There were people near the forest. The binoculars showed me that there were ten blue-eyed women slowly meandering their way beside the treeline. They pretended to talk to one another as they walked parallel to the forest.
A stir occurred in the camp as someone finally spotted them. Considering how long it took them to spot the women, I think their sentries must have fallen asleep. A few small groups of men elbowed one another as they left the camp to approach the women.
A few slight movements in the trees told me that most of our fighters were in the forest close to the camp. I knew that the glimpses I saw were not Diane or Ace. They were too skilled to be seen since they had plenty of time to get into position.
One of the women looked at the men who had nearly reached them and pointed as if just noticing them. The group of women paused to look at the still approaching men. I couldn't believe that a dozen were falling into this obvious trap.
I shifted my binoculars and frowned. Almost all of the bandits were now watching and almost a third of them were slowly following the dozen bolder ones, although they hung much further back, as if wary about arrows.
The dozen in front were now within crossbow range of the treeline. One of the women took a step back and turned to jog for the trees as if alarmed, and her friends started to follow. Both the small group and the huge group further out gave chase. The women disappeared into the trees, they were going slowly enough that I knew they wanted the men to follow them deep into the forest.
The big group had to have at least two hundred armored men who ran after the women as if they forgot that anyone who entered those trees never came back out alive. This didn't make any sense. Even I knew better and I was just a child. A few seemed to hesitate as they approached the forest edge, slowing their pace to a stop.
They turned, but before they could get far, arrows appeared in their backs as they fell into the grass. I took a shaky breath. I had never seen someone die in front of me before. I was glad that I wasn't closer, or it would have been worse. It seemed less real through the binoculars.
A volley of alarm horns sounded from the bandit camp. Someone must have just realized that around two hundred of their men had just fallen into an obvious trap and were trying to call them back before they all met the fate as the couple near the treeline.
I gasped as I saw every man in the camp charge towards the trees. It had been a trap! There was no way our fighters could fend off almost 800 enemies at once. Those on the wall also realized that something was wrong and started ringing the bell sequence to let those inside know to be on the alert. We had no bell code to convey that an enemy was trying to ambush our fighters. Those inside wouldn't know what the vague alarm was for, just that they had to be ready to flee if the 'evacuate' code was sounded.
Most of the fighters were now in the trees, but that last group was mostly hanging back and forming a solid line as they advanced through the trees slowly. Their bows were out and loaded as they did a careful sweep to ensure they didn't let our fighters get behind them.
Their plan was well thought out, but those who were fired climbed trees readily and could hide high above the ground while the attackers passed below. The trees were pretty thick along that section and it was hard to catch glimpses of the people through the branches.
I saw one man just inside the trees go down on one knee and point a crossbow high into a tree. I covered my mouth to stop a small shriek as Diane jumped out of hiding and ran further into the forest. The man didn't get a chance to fire at her, her speed was something only another fired person could match.
I scanned the trees with the binoculars as I tried to catch a glimpse of her or any other of our fighters. The bandits were in two distinct groups. The first bunch was still chasing those women deeper into the forest. The rest of the camp was trying to clear the forest of our fighters.
I looked back as I tried locate Diane. I didn't see her, but the man who had tried to fire at her was dead with a crossbolt in his chest. The forest was full of movement due to all the bandits. Some of it was our people too. Most were just trying to flee the bandits while taking a few shots at them.
Why were they running instead of hiding and waiting for them to pass? It made much more sense to let them go by and trail behind them instead of getting pushed back in front of an approaching enemy. I saw another man fire a bow and one of our fighters narrowly escaped it.
How had the bandit seen him? He had been well hidden halfway up a tree, it shouldn't have been possible to see him. I watched as a few other bandits shot their bows, but missed their targets. I inhaled in surprise. Those who were firing or shooting all wore those odd helmets with the green lens. It must allow them to see our fighters somehow. This was not good at all.
Most of the people were in the northern forest and closer to the cliff I was on. I heard occasional shouts of men as they were injured, thankfully most of those seemed to come from the bandits and not our fighters.
Our people were mostly running and occasionally firing. For almost every arrow they fired, a bandit fell down. Each fighter only carried so many arrows though, and we had not expected a full on attack. My heart pounded. People I knew were down there in a fight for their lives. I knew there was no way I could go down there. I had no weapons for starters and I would be a fairly easy target. I had promised Diane to stay here as well. All I could do was watch.
I inhaled as I heard a woman's high-pitched painful scream pierce the forest. The only women out there were ours. Who had been injured? I was so worried and tried to locate the injured person. The scream had come from the small group deeper in the forest. Distant screams and yells started coming from that same area.
An unfamiliar voice yelled out, "Swift!"
My eyes widened. No. That zombie could not have possibly had any worse timing. I finally spotted the source of the commotion. A red eyed man was attacking a bandit and slamming him into the ground. The zombie struck his fist into the man's head and the man went limp.
What the...
That made no sense. Zombies didn't punch. They tended to grab and drag people towards their open mouths for a bite. The zombie's head turned and my blood ran cold. I knew that man. I had just talked with him the other day on the cliff when dropping eggs on the bandits. He was fired, how had he turned into a Swift?
He darted off after another bandit and his speed took my breath away. That speed was something I had only seen with the fastest fired people. I saw his wife, Amelia, limping further west to safety. It suddenly clicked. He wasn't a Swift. His Heartfire was actually a red color. He had lost control.
I saw him dodge arrows with ease as he attacked another bandit with his bare hands. The first man's voice had been heard though, and the bandits had started backing up to the field where they could see and fight the Swift better.
Some fired people were gathering along the bottom of the cliffs to protect them from the bandits or to get those on top to drop a ladder so they could climb to safety if it got too dangerous. Most were now following the retreating bandits and taking shots at them when they could.
Another blur of speed caught my attention. A yellow-eyed man was now attacking the bandits as well. Most of the bandits had left the forest at this point. The majority of the first group of two hundred who had entered the forest were dead. I saw glimpses of their motionless bodies through the trees.
Several screams and cries still came from below as the bandits and our fighters clashed. I was grateful that I didn't see any of our fighters dead. Their Heartfire reactions were saving them from the bandits' arrows.
One scream made my ears prick and I sat up and scanned the trees wildly. That had sounded like Diane, although I had never heard her scream, so I couldn't be entirely sure. I couldn't see her! Where was she? All I wanted was a glimpse to prove that it wasn't her I had heard.
More yells and screams sounded from further north, away from the cliffs and I moved my binoculars up there. The bandits were still exiting the trees up there, but they were moving as if panicked. Some were trying to run.
They were being pursued by fired fighters who sported glowing eyes of various colors. One by one, they emerged from the trees as they came after the bandits at a run. I lowered my binoculars and found I could see well enough without them to tell the bandits apart from our fighters. About a dozen fired fighters were on the field and tearing through the bandits' disorganized ranks.
I lifted the binoculars again. Not one of the out of control fighters were using weapons. I shuddered lightly as I saw them send powerful blows that broke bones and sent bandits to the ground in pain. Some weren't very good fighters, and it took them numerous strikes to finish with a bandit. Others were more skilled and didn't take nearly as long. I lowered my binoculars before I could see more of the bloody carnage.
My stomach stirred queasily at the little bit I had seen. It was clear that I would never be a fighter. I moved my binoculars to the treeline and saw that a number of our fighters had come to the edge of the forest and were watching the chaos in shock. Some hefted bows and moved to cautiously help their out of control comrades.
I hoped they were careful, when someone was out of control, they didn't remember anything and may not realize who was a friend and who was a foe. Usually when someone went out of control, they were defending someone they cared about. I scanned the treeline. Amelia was there and watching her husband. He was the red-eyed out-of-control man I had first spotted.
I saw a few other fired people with bandages or minor injuries, which may have caused their loved ones to go out of control as they tried to protect them. I inhaled in delight as I saw Diane step around a tree as she gazed in shock at the field. She was still alive. I refused to move my binoculars to see the bandits. I lowered them to check, but the fired fighters were clearly winning at a fast pace.
The bandits were simply trying to run now, but had realized they were too late. Hundreds were scattered on the grass stubble, either dead or dying. Maybe a hundred or so lived. Horns and bells were sounding from the wall as the gate opened to allow more fighters from Sanctuary out to help with the last of the battle.
I moved my binoculars back to Diane. I saw a bandage wrapped around her upper arm and shoulder with some blood spotting it, but she seemed well enough otherwise. I lowered my binoculars again, but the remaining bandits were further north along that treeline. None were close to the cliff. Diane was maybe a kilometer away from the cliff and there were no bandits between us. The battle was mostly over.
I had kept my promise and now I wanted to go to Diane.