Bandits' End

Animir could feel her strength starting to ebb; was this bandit woman too much for her? She was getting past her guard again and again, but never managing to strike home.

Meanwhile, healed from the worst of his wounds, Thorkil the dwarf hefted his massive flail and charged across the battlefield, yelling at the top of his voice and ignoring the volley of arrows that flicked past him as he did so. He charged straight past where Animir and the bandit chief circled each other on their horses, heading to the forest wherin the archers were concealed. Animir, seeing this, took an instant to yell "Sword!" after him as he disappeared among the trees. A two-handed flail was not a suitable weapon for forest fighting!

Down the road, Akara the kobold continued to run....

Finally, Animir managed to get a solid blow in, burying her sword into the robber's belly. The woman groaned and toppled off her horse into the grass. Gasping for breath, Animir dismounted, standing behind her horse so as to be out of sight of the archers. She drove her sword into the ground and readied her bow, scanning the trees for a target.

In the trees, the archers had other problems. Thorkil had plunged into the trees, dropping his flail and drawing a short sword. He charged up to a startled bandit bowman and hacked his left leg in half below the knee, despatching the man as he fell. Classic dwarf tactics!

Left with no targets, the remaining three archers broke cover. One moved to engage Thorkil, while the outer two emerged from the trees and headed for Animir's position, still intent on their plunder. She tagged one with an arrow as they approached before discarding the bow for her sword and shield as the two charged up.

Thorkil dealt with his second opponent without difficulty, but instead of setting off again across the battlefield, he bent down and started rummaging on the body.

Swords and shields clanged as Animir engaged the last two, and then an arrow whistled through the battle, missing everyone and everything. Glancing back at the trees, she saw Thorkil armed with a shortbow, siezed from a slain archer. As she watched, he loosed a second arrow, wounding a bandit and allowing her to fell him.

This was too much for the last bandit; he turned and fled. Animir, exhausted and wounded, was content to simply stand and watch him flee, but Thorkil, grim practical dwarf that he was, drilled him from behind as he ran and the battle was over.

Without comment, he handed Animir a healing potion, and the pair began to tally their unexpected loot.

Nearly a mile away, Akara the Kobold lay on the road and gasped for breath.....

Animir's share of the Loot