The arrow buried itself in the tree trunk just above Ryle's head. Avarice ran past him, diving over fallen trees and exposed roots to dodge the storm of arrows that followed him. "Keep moving!" Avarice called back to him as he disappeared into some particularly thick underbrush. Ryle heard a quiet swish as another arrow flew by his ear, missing by barely an inch. That was all the motivation Ryle needed to get back on his feet and follow Avarice into the wilderness.
As Ryle ran, branches and brambles tore at him, covering his arms with shallow cuts. "Avarice! Where the hell are you?" He yelled as he came to the end of the thick fauna. Ryle looked ahead of him, a steep gorge blocked his path. "Avarice!" Ryle panicked, he could hear people making their way through the foliage after him. Before he could do anything, three men emerged from the way Ryle had come. All three men had their bows drawn and had an easy shot at Ryle's heart.
"Move and you die mountain dweller." The largest of the men said, taking a step forward. "Funny I was just about to say the same thing." Came the mocking reply as Avarice dropped out of the forest canopy, landing in a crouch between the three men. As all three turned to face him, Avarice swept his leg in a wide arc, knocking two of the three off their feet. The third let his arrow go and Avarice sprang towards him twisting in mid air so that he hit the man full in the chest with both feet.
The man doubled over winded as Avarice brought his elbow down on the back of the man's skull, knocking him out cold. By this time the other two had scrambled back to their feet and were rushing him with hunting knives drawn. Avarice sidestepped as the first man lunged with his knife, then grabbed the man's forearm and brought it down onto his raised knee. The man dropped the knife as the bones in his arm snapped like twigs.
Avarice turned to face the third man, but found Ryle standing over an unconscious body with a heavy branch in his hands. "Tsh, I could have handled it." Avarice mumbled, turning back to the man with the newly broken arm. Pulling a knife from his boot, Avarice let the familiar weight settle into his hand as he surveyed the man clutching his arm. "So...you wouldn't happen to know which way to Baruke would you?"
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So, Ryle and Avarice are lost in the woods. Yes, I realize this didn't explain a single thing, but I felt like writing something interesting so there. I also felt like showing off Avarice's ninja skillz. So I leave it to the you guys to say what the hell everyone else was doing. Maybe you got captured, or maybe you guys didn't get lost because you asked for directions...you choose.
