Follow This Link: ((Important!!)) Interception

Shintai collapsed on the ground. It was dark out. Other than Shintai's heavy breathing, the only sound was a symphony of chirping crickets.

"Dur qu Eznn (I lost them)," he said, smiling. After a short amount of catching his breath, he was ready to wind down.

"Thought you escaped?" Shintai jumped up and unsheathed his blade. He looked around. Surrounding him happened to be a group of four. To his right was a tall man standing at Shintai's own height of almost seven feet. He had gray skin and long silver hair spiked up around him. There was a bit of blood in the corner of his mouth. He was wearing a gray vest over a black robe, along with leather boots. To his left was a shorter dwarf at about five feet. He had a big brown beard and long brown hair. He was wearing a Rune Chainmail and holding two oversized Demon Warhammers. His boots were made of pure steel, and he wore a blood tabard over some mythril pants. Behind him was a hooded man at an average height with pale skin and long brown hair hanging down into his blue eyes. His weapon was a flaming sword, and he had an impressive longbow on him with a quiver of barbed arrows. His black boots were the only pieces of clothing Shintai could capture as the hood came down to his ankles. And in front of him was another Tauren at about seven and a half feet. He had extremely strong horns and slightly darker fur than Shintai. He wore impressive black mythril armor all over, and he had two swords that probably weighed twice at much as each of Shintai's blades but triple the strength.

((Conversation translated from Taurahe to Common.)) "Dad wasn't happy you ran away," said the Tauren.
"Well good," said Shintai. "I don't care. Ihus, you know that I ran because he was planning to slaughter us both."
"Tough," replied Ihus. "You know I'm going to kill you and take that potion. Give up the potion. I promise then your death will be quick and painful." Ihus brought down a blade right for Shintai's leg. Shintai quickly jumped back and then forward again, swinging his own blade into Ihus's right arm. He made a scar, but Ihus's armor held some protection magic, causing the scar to barely sting at all.

"Rip his head off Ihus!" said the dwarf. Shintai jumped up and swung at Ihus, who quickly pushed him to the ground.

"It's over Shintai." Shintai frowned.
"Things should have been over a long time ago," he said. Ihus lifted his left arm to bring his weapon down on Shintai. As he brought it down, Shintai used his palms to stop the blade. He kicked Ihus back and snagged the sword.

"Fight me now," said Shintai.

It had been near dusk, and the setting sun emblazoned an orangish glow over the land. In the distance, Sareus heard the sound of battle. He had been camped nearby, most of his belongings rolled out for the night. It had been a weary trip back from the desert, and his skin tone had darkened a bit from overexposure. After running a hand through his hair, he knelt down, fetching up his swordbelt.

He had just removed the piece, about to start removing his leathers to turn in for the night. That was before the sound of battle reached him, though. Keeping the flimsy armor on, he quickly strapped his swordbelt around his waist. He wouldn't rush into this one.

He surmounted a hill nearby, catching his first gaze of the battle. A minotaur? They weren't terribly common. Infact, they were rarely seen on these grasslands. Four men had surrounded him - looking to be equipped for war. As the battle raged, Sareus approached from behind, slowly unsheathing his longsword. He would do what he could to help this..beast.

As he closed within about twenty feet, his pace suddenly broke from a walk to full-on sprint. He was coming up behind the flaming weapon-man. He wasn't exactly sure his weapons and armor matched up with the others - he certainly couldn't accomodate for their equipment, but he was agile enough to avoid their blows, and distract them long enough for the hulking tauren to assist.

About six feet from the man, he used the momentum of running to propel him into a jump. His weapon was drawn - gripped in both hands and held downwards - as if it were a large dagger. Coming down right behind the man, he had plunged the weapon towards the nape of his neck, attempted to drive it just between the shoulder blades. He would hope the suprise would give him some advantage. Words were unneccesary. The tauren would - hopefully - see that Sareus was attempting to aid him, not cause him more harm.

Clang. As Shintai had Ihus in a headlock, he witnessed the man in the black robe knocked to the ground by a man. By the sound of the strike, the hooded man was wearing some powerful armor, but the strength of the blade dented the armor and pierced the man's back. He groaned, but he still had some energy left.

"Get up Gendulus! Rauf, Ekkarane-- attack him!" The dwarf nodded at the mention of the name Rauf, as the gray man nodded at the mention of the name Ekkarane. Shintai quickly knocked Ihus away before striking Rauf the Dwarf in the leg, knocking him over. Rauf smashed his warhammer into Shintai's side, knocking him to the ground.

"Gah," mumbled Shintai. He rolled away and stood, lifting his sword up to strengthen his back. He then turned and pushed the gray man named Ekkarane to knock him off balance. He then fired up with a headbutt and slammed him about thirteen feet back. He was suddenly lifted up into the air and brough down with incredible force. He felt a heavy hoof on his back.

"You're weak, Shintai," said Ihus, bringing a sword up to thrust it into Shintai's back. Gendulus and Ekkarane had began to move back towards Sareus.

"And now... your end."

The blade struck only two or three inches deep into the man, having been halted by the armor he wore. With a grunt, he landed, and immediately withdrew the weapon, regripping it. "You've got to be kidding.." Sareus muttered, sliding his foot back as he witnessed the scene unfolding. Ekkarane, the man with seemingly the least armor, was approaching him with a rather frightening dwarf. Sareus did his best to keep the distance between them as he considered his options - and he had little time.

He hadn't the skill to take on two without being severely wounded or killed. The only option he could manage was to flank from the least-armored man, Ekkarane, and try and reach the other Tauren in time to stop his assault on the surrounded Tauren. The time to act though, was now.

Rushing forward, he skirted to the right, eyes locking on Ekkarane. He had been a natural acrobat, and to perform such a feat in padded leathers only made it simpler. As his speed increased to a sprint, he planted his boots on the ground, springboarding up, and performing a twist mid-air. He landed behind the dwarf, who had been only inches from Ekkarane - his target -. regripping his longsword and slashing, a strange sense of determination, mixed with pure adrenaline, merging to aid in the young man's attack. As the blade soared, Ekkarane spun around. His weapon was already brandished, and moved to meet the longsword he bore. clang.The blades met, steel on steel echoing amongst the sunset-washed grasslands. The only failure on Ekkaranes part was the ability to fully stop the blade. The momentum pushed behind Sareus' blade pushed both weapons into Ekkarane's side, causing a gash which sent a spatter of blood, followed by a steady ooze, and a sharp shout from the wounded mans mouth. Stumbling back, a hammer struck down where he had just been standing. Heavy armor had a single curse - movement. As Sareus stumbled back, he scooped up a nearby rock, steadying himself enough to launch it at the nearby Tauren's head - doing what he could to distract the beast from it's task of killing the original Tauren he moved to help. As he threw, a blade slashed across his back - Ekkarane had found his mark after recovering.

Sareus groaned, a flow of blood coming steadily from the gash along his back. The leather he wore was torn wide open by the mans blade. He hadn't a choice, and started to back away from the two, unawares of where the original man he struck had gone.

Shintai only smiled before quickly rolling from under his brother's hoof, causing him to fall sideways. He then pulled on his leg as he fell, causing him to land on his big head. Shintai jumped up. He had to aid the other man. So he ran to Rauf and hit him in the side, running to the man. He drew his blade and hit Ekkarane in the back- his favorite target. Ekkarane fell over Sareus. Rauf began to grab Shintai's throat. Shintai spit in Rauf's eye.

"Aunn it! Are you insane?" shouted the dwarf. Shintai knee'd him in the stomach and pushed him to the ground. He looked at the man backing away.

"Catch your breath- they want I," said Shintai. Gendulus fired a barbed arrow, striking Shintai in his leg. Shintai winced in pain. Gendulus then fired another into his shoulder.

"GAAH!" he shouted. Gendulus put a third arrow in his bow and fired. This one hit Shintai at his ribs, fortunately missing his heart. However, it made Shintai drowzy. Shintai fell backwards in pain and exhaust. He looked back at Sareus. He threw a potion his way. This was not an ordinary potion.

"Get the potion!" shouted Gendulus.

Sareus caught the potion in his hand, clasping it firmly and slinging it onto his belt. His gaze kept on the Tauren for a moment, concern and curiosity mixed in a delicate blend. There was a dire situation at hand though - a number of well armed, and armored men charging him to get a hold of this potion tossed. What was so special about it? He peered at the liquid for a moment.

That moment was over. An arrow soared past the fallen Tauren towards Sareus. It had missed him by a meager inch, sailing into the ground beyond the man. It caused the young man to catch his breath in his throat, stumbling back a little. The original man he struck at the beginning of the fight charged him, flaming weapon in hand. Striking down, he attempted to simply cut the unfortunate Sareus in two.

His weapon was in hand, though - and despite his age, and despite his apparent lack of shine, he was able.
The blade soared up to meet the flaming weapon, which spattered a few embers onto his face - only causing momentary pain. With a grunt, he forced the weapon up, parrying it away. As his mid-section was open, he took the chance and plunged his blade into the upstretched arm he bore his weapon with. Blood spattered out as a cut was ripped forth, the blade striking where armor could not comfortably be set - directly under the armpit. Bone was visible if one looked close enough, and after tearing the blade free, he backpedaled a moment, dashing off a slice from Ekkarune. His agility managed to be a positive for him. After parrying the last blow - with the dwarf still huffing and puffing towards him, he turned, bolting towards a nearby wood. Hopefully the Tauren would be able to muster his strength back up.

A few moments later, he skidded into a darkening forest. Little light shone as the sun had set, drawing up only the stars and moon above to cast light over the area. As he entered a bit deeper into the wood, he found a large tree, and slipped up behind it, breathing rapidly, and regripping his weapon. He was not one to hide - but now it was called for. If he hadn't caught his breath, he would surely be run down. Hopefully the wounds the man suffered kept him from firing his bow anymore, but he couldn't be sure just how deep the blade sunk.

As all of the attacks took place, Ihus watched closely.
"The one with the potion leaves! Get him!"
Rauf the Dwarf looked down and Shintai. He then looked up and drank an elixer before wiping his mouth and rushing for the forest. Ihus stared down at Shintai and pulled out his swords. Shintai looked up at him. Potion... potion.... Shintai pulled out a tiny vial and opened it, drinking the contents. It was a shock potion. Shintai got a jolk before jumping up and kicking Ihus, taking a sword from his left hand, then quickly hammering Ihus in the throat with his hard skull. Ihus fell back. He looked at Shintai and grinned.
"Elrue Karann," he said. A chain fired from the ground and wrapped itself around Shintai's waist. The chain continued to curl until it tightened up on his right arm, making it unable to move. It happened to be the arm holding the stolen sword. Ihus stood and eyed him. He held up his other sword and brought it down on Shintai's right arm. It left a cut. A large five inch cut.
"Ihus!!" he shouted, flexing and breaking the chain. "Today this ends!" He struck Ihus in the side of the head with the sword before wrapping the chain around his throat and tossing it over a tree. He jumped and pulled on the chain, causing Ihus to be lifted up and be hanged. Shintai slammed his sword into Ihus' chest. Ihus vanished.
"Arr. He got away," said Shintai. But the other three were still left to finish. He knew Ihus would have powerful minions that wouldn't go down without an incredible fight. Rauf was after the man, and Shintai had to get the special potion back.

His breathing was erratic.

His heart was pounding.

His head was throbbing.

The gash on his back reopened when he had started running, and now the tree was coating itself in the dark-red liquid from Sareus' blood-soaked back.

Catching his breath, he held the longsword in his hands directly infront of him, wielding it as if it were a spear - centered to hide it's glint from prying eyes. He kept it close, and trembling hands constantly shifted their grip on it.

"Split up! He's around here somewhere." barked the dwarf, stomping off out of Sareus' peripheral. Luckily he hadn't been spotted.

The steady footfalls, followed by the clinking of metallic armor, sounded close by, approaching the tree he stood at. Taking in a few deep breaths, and just as the man was about to cross the threshold of the tree, Sareus broke out.

His right foot slid back, guiding it's way along some undergrowth. Planting his left foot just infront of the man, he had used what momentum gathered to slash at his throat area - which seemed unprotected. As the blade was swung, a flaming weapon came up to block it - the mans only defense, and apparent instinct reaction. With a sharp clangg, the weapons collided, sending a spray of flaming embers throughout the area, though this time - instead of spattering over Sareus' face, the parry was on the opposite end. Enough strength was pushed into the weapon to break the parry, and pushed the flaming blade back into the mans throat. Determination was evident, and despite the disadvantage, he perservered. This had been the very moment when fear was but a wisp, and the young mans potential was shown. As the blade was pushed back, it slowly cut into it's wielders throat, burning the flesh the moment it touched.

One of the difficult parts of such a close encounter is witnessing the death of someone just like you. As his eyes went wide, and his jugular was shorn in two, the man fell to the ground, dropping his weapon and igniting the underbrush. The head was cleanly lopped off, and rolled to the ground. The body struck the ground soon after, slumping with a sickish display of wounds. As the fire broke out of control, Sareus decided it would be best to evacuate before the other two reached him. Rushing over the body, a run was spurred on back to where he left the Tauren - who was now apparently alone, with everyone running after him. The other two would soon find their friends body.

Shintai made a run for Rauf. After some time of hitting a tree or two, he found him.
"Dwarf! We fight!" Shintai said, pulling out his sword. Rauf pulled out his Demon Warhammers and ran after Shintai, swinging left and right trying to hit him. Shintai bent backwards and kicked Rauf into the air. He jumped and hit a home run across Rauf's jaw, making his face go pure blood red. Rauf landed on his nose-- broken and red.
Ekkarune was probably after Sareus right now.