Chapter 3: Part 9 - Rescuers

They were going to die. The thought kept running through Vasha's head, even as she fired shot after shot into sinewy Mordrem flesh. She didn't think she was being melodramatic, either. She could picture a dozen ways out of this situation, but every single one involved them being torn limb from limb.

Beside her, Roan snarled as he deflected a set of Mordrem talons off his shield. Vasha dropped to the ground as the creature's tail whipped past her head, then scrambled backwards as another Mordrem reached for her. Her pistol barked three times, the sound ricocheting off the tree at her back, until it sounded like there were a dozen Vashas firing a dozen guns. If only.

Haki, on her other side, grabbed her arm and hauled her upright, pivoting in the next breath to stab a Mordrem through the gut. If Mordrem had anything like guts. They were remarkably resilient; firing on them felt about as useful as firing into the forest floor. Vasha did it anyway, desperation making her reckless, until Roan stepped in front of her and smashed the closest Mordrem in the head with his mace.

"Fall back," he ordered. She did so without question, pressing her spine to the tree trunk as she checked her pistols with trembling fingers. The tree they were using as cover was huge; it would take half a dozen humans linking arms to reach right around it. Gull had disappeared around the other side several minutes ago and not been seen since.

Was it minutes, or was it hours? Every inch of Vasha ached, her skin prickling where it was splashed with Mordrem fluids. They couldn't have been here long, could they? More than a few minutes and they would have been dead already.

Frostpaw gave a sudden bark of welcome. Vasha fired two more shots past Roan, then turned to see Gull materialising from the shadows. She looked haggard, her leathers ripped down the front as though by a giant claw. At least she was alive.

"Branches, on the other side," she said, through gasping breaths. "We can climb."

Vasha wanted to bolt and run, but the rest of the Marauders were more disciplined. Gull led the way, Haki and Vasha next, Roan as their rearguard. Step by step, they fought their way around the tree, guns blaring, axes whirring, and Roan's mace thudding inexorably into every Mordrem that came close. They were all tiring, though; Vasha couldn't remember when they'd last slept. They couldn't keep this up forever–

"Here." Gull's voice seemed to be right on top of Vasha. The ranger appeared beside her, then leapt, grabbing for a branch far over Vasha's head. With a single swing, she disappeared into the shadowed leaves above.

Haki went next, scrambling up as easily as his sister had, whilst Gull rained arrows from above. Vasha turned towards the tree, though all her instincts screamed warnings against putting her back to the Mordrem. Roan would hold them at bay. He had to.

There were no hand-holds. The tree trunk was slick with damp moss, as unyielding as ice. Vasha scrabbled at it, desperation a solid lump in her chest. She jumped, but her pack swung awkwardly against her back, and she almost slammed face-first into the tree trunk. She landed hard, caught her balance, got ready to jump again–

Something grabbed her foot. Vasha screamed, kicking out in a panic, until she heard Roan's snarl. Not a Mordrem – the charr.

She screamed again as he threw her into the air. Vasha couldn't stop her hands flailing, grasping empty air – until one caught Haki's outstretched arm and she was hauled onto the safety of the wide tree branch.

Vasha steadied herself and looked down. Roan was still surrounded by Mordrem, Frostpaw and Cirrus growling and snapping beside him. His shield looked like such a flimsy defence against that seething wall of Mordrem fury. Gull was still loosing arrows and Vasha joined her with pistol shots, but it wasn't going to be enough. As soon as Roan turned, he'd be torn apart.

"I'll go back for him," Haki said, already crouching to drop from the tree.

"You can't–" Gull snapped, but her words were lost in a howl of pain. Vasha whipped round to find a barbed vine from some Mordrem creature had wrapped itself around Gull's leg. Blood ran down her ankle. Haki dropped to his knees, hacking at the vine with an axe; it only tightened, pulling hard enough to wrench Gull to her knees. In the same heartbeat, there was a roar of pain from Roan, a frenzied burst of yipping from Frostpaw – and a blinding flash of light.

The world seemed to slow, perhaps even to freeze entirely. Vasha flung her arm up to her eyes, only lowering it when the light subsided. There were figures on the nearest ridge, but she was too dazed to make them out in anything more than silhouette. What was going on?

Gull was back on her feet, ignoring the blood that covered her leg from ankle to knee. "Go," she urged, slapping Haki on the shoulder. "Let's finish this."

Vasha gaped at the norn as, one after the other, they dropped from the tree and back into the fight. The entire slope had turned into a battlefield, lines of fire tracing the ground, shadows flickering, orbs of purple light zipping through the crowd of Mordrem. As Vasha watched, the ground itself bucked, throwing four Mordrem off their clawed feet. Haki and Roan were on them in seconds, hacking them to pieces. It was bloody and horrible, and Vasha almost wanted to close her eyes, but... They were winning.

"Vasha!" Someone shouted her name. She knew that voice. Oh, how she knew that voice. Her chest tightened as she looked down, but it didn't change what lay below. Jean, at the foot of the tree. Jean, holding out his arms. Had he really come for her? What had she done to deserve such loyalty?

By the time she made it down, the fight was over. She slid from the tree, keeping herself just out of Jean's reach. She wasn't about to throw herself into his arms, even if the Valparis had just rescued them. Because this had been a rescue – there was no doubt about that. Only the how of it was a mystery.

"The game led us here." Marissa was speaking to Roan, loud enough that her words carried to all of them. "A portal from the Silverwastes. It seems our alliance holds a little longer."

Did she look uncomfortable as she said that? Easier to study her face, Vasha found, than to look at Jean. He was watching her every move, hovering nearby as though she might fall over at any moment.

"We should find somewhere to make camp," he said, finally looking at Marissa. "We need to get away from... this."

His disgust was mirrored on every face. The battlefield around them was churned and stinking. On the other side of it, Gull was still hobbling. They needed to get to safety.

"What about the Mordrem?" she asked, hating the way her voice cracked.

"They're gone," Jean said. She hated, too, that he felt the need to reassure her.

Marissa had her head on one side, listening. "Gone after easier prey, to be more precise."

Vasha shuddered. She could hear Mordrem in the distance, still snarling and screeching. Other teams were, even now, meeting the fate of the Marauders, and most of them wouldn't be so lucky. Few others would have rescuers on the way.

No-one suggested playing the hero again, though, not even Jean. It wasn't even about winning. They needed forward momentum. They needed to reach the end of this round if they were going to survive. She'd long stopped thinking about what lay at the end.

"This way," Gull said, climbing to the top of the next ridge. "There's shelter ahead."

It was a relief to scramble out of the hollow and leave the Mordrem corpses behind, although Vasha didn't think much of Gull's idea of 'shelter'. It was nothing but a cluster of bushes at the base of a cliff, a dell that screened them from the outside but wouldn't even keep the rain off. She was too tired to complain, though; it took all her concentration to stay upright.

Jean could see it. He stayed close to her all the way to their camp, not touching, not speaking, but impossible to ignore. Vasha had no intention of accepting his help. An alliance that led to one team coming to the aid of another? Fine. Jean propping her up as though she was sick and feeble? Even now, exhausted and aching, she had more pride than that.

Still, she dropped to the ground at the first opportunity, putting her back to the cliff and resting her head against the chill stone. She desperately wanted to sleep, but her heart fluttered madly in her chest every time she closed her eyes – and no-one else seemed prepared to rest just yet.

Roan and Marissa still stood. They faced one another in the low light of the hollow, one bristling silhouette and one sleek one. Not for the first time, Vasha wondered which of them would win if it came to a fight.

"How did you do it?" Roan asked. "That portal."

Vasha hadn't seen a portal, only a flash of light. The Valparis had to have come from somewhere, though.

Marissa folded her arms. "It was Yinn's," she said, somewhat reluctantly. "We reached the end of a labyrinth and it was waiting for us."

"That's all?"

"What did you expect?"

For Yinn to have done everything in his power to keep the two teams apart, Vasha found herself thinking. Throwing them together like this... They were missing something.

But Jean said, "It's true. Yinn sent us here." He spoke with an air of finality, as though there was no more discussion to be had.

Roan grunted. "You happen to find a key in the Silverwastes?"

"No." Marissa had gone very still. "Did you?"

Roan's silence was answer enough. For several heartbeats, Vasha could feel the atmosphere in the hollow shifting, becoming brittle. All the Valparis had to do was attack, taking out the injured and exhausted Marauders–

But Marissa's shoulders relaxed again and the moment was gone.

"Then we'll continue with you," she said. "South, I take it? It doesn't seem safe to travel alone."

Haki, who was binding Gull's ankle, gave a grim laugh. "You can say that again."

"We need rest," Roan said. "You'll stand guard?"

There was no moment of tension, this time. "We will," Marissa said.

Finally, Vasha let her eyes close, trying to ignore the way her pulse kept thrumming in her ears. The Valparis had saved them, it was true – but she wasn't sure having them here made her feel any safer.