Benton was walking across a flat piece of land near the base of the cliff on which the city of Noran perched. Because of his wilderness skills, he had been among those chosen to reconnoiter the nearby area for signs of the Horde. Sitto Lan was somewhere nearby, but was keeping himself concealed in the thin woods at the field's edge.
Francesca was also here. Benton wondered where Thudd was. If Francesca was here, that must mean Thudd was off on some important errand where she couldn't follow. But Benton didn't really mind, Francesca could be pleasant company, even though she tended to talk too much sometimes.
Benton bent over and picked up a suspiciously flattened piece of earth. He tasted it but couldn't detect any Horde in it. He tossed the dirt clod back to the ground and continued his patrol. He was trying to divide his attention between detecting signs of the enemy and listening to Francesca. She was saying, "...oh, and the colors! You should have seen them, Benton. They were unbelievable, colors from one end of the rainbow to the other! And the variety! I could have died..."
Actually, Benton had no idea what she was talking about, but that didn't seem to matter. She was happy, and he smiled, even as other parts of his mind were busy analyzing what his eyes, nose, and ears were picking up around him. He noticed the forest at the far end of the field seemed suddenly very quiet, as if all the animals had been frightened away. He decided to investigate, and so altered his direction slightly.
Francesca dutifully followed, still talking, "...I was in heaven. The next time I go to Shoes-'R'-Us at Starbase 317, I'm bringing you with me!"
Benton was becoming a little distracted by her unrelenting verbal assault and was about to ask her maybe talk a little less, when suddenly she froze in her tracks. She grabbed Benton's arm and yelled, "Duck!"
Benton reflexively dove into a nearby ditch and covered his head, expecting photon grenades to start detonating all around him. Seconds pregnant with expectation passed, but nothing happened. Finally, he lifted his head to see Francesca standing over him with her hands on her hips. She was looking at him like he was crazy.
"What are you doing?!" she said, completely bewildered.
"You yelled 'Duck'!" exclaimed Benton, as he picked himself up off the ground.
"SO?!" yelled Francesca. "There's some ducks over there!" she said, pointing to a small pond.
Benton looked. For a second he was speechless, then said matter-of-factly, "Ah. So there are. My mistake."
Suddenly, Sitto was at their side from out of nowhere. He said, "Hey! What's up? I heard shouting."
"Oh, hello, Sitto. It was nothing," said Benton as he subtly pointed at Francesca and nodded his head in her direction.
"Oh. Gotcha," said Sitto. "Hi, Franny."
"Hi, Sitto."
"Well, I guess I'll go back to where I was and leave you two alone," winked Sitto.
Benton was about to protest, but was cut off when Francesca grabbed his arm again and shouted, "Duck!" But this time she actually threw him into the ditch.
Benton landed, rolled, and spit out a mouthful of dirt. This time it did taste like the Horde had been here recently. Then he heard the sound of primitive projectiles whizzing by overhead. A few four-foot-long arrows stuck in the ground where they had been standing only moments before.
By this time, Sitto had joined Benton and Francesca in the ditch. He said, "We're sitting ducks here, Benny!"
"Please, Sitto. Don't mention 'ducks' for a while," grimaced Benton. He peaked over the top of the ditch. There was no enemy immediately visible, but arrows continued to fly from somewhere beyond the trees. There must be another clearing there. Way off to the right, he could see clouds of dust that might indicate a cavalry unit, or a large army on the march.
He slipped back into the ditch and said to the others, "We're about to be overrun here. We need to move. Now!"
"We'll never make it!" cried Francesca. "The trees are too far."
"Don't worry, Francesca." Benton gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "When I say 'run', run!"
"You're not even armed!" said Francesca.
Benton looked slightly embarrassed. Normally, he hated carrying a weapon, but these were exceptional circumstances. He was in fact wearing a miniature crossbow on each wrist. So small that Francesca had failed to notice. Each launcher fired miniature crossbow bolts from a strange reinforced metal and fiber bow. They were small, but they carried a powerful kick, and were extremely accurate. He showed them to Francesca.
"Pretty cool, huh?" said Sitto. "I've got one too." He showed her his. Francesca didn't look the least bit reassured.
"Ready?" said Benton. He looked at the other two, peeked over the lip of the ditch again, and yelled, "RUN!"
The three sprang from the ditch and bolted for the tree line. It seemed a mile away. Arrows rained down all around them and got progressively closer as the Horde archers zeroed in on their range.
"We're not gonna make it," panted Sitto.
"Keep running," called Benton as he hauled Francesca along after him.
Just then, a Horde arrow found its mark and Benton plowed into the ground face down. Francesca tumbled after him. "Benton!" she cried.
Sitto skidded to a halt and went back for his friends. Benton was face down on the ground, not moving, and Franny was kneeling at his side trying to shake him awake. "Benton!" she cried again.
Sitto grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her feet. "Come on, Franny!" he shouted frantically. "We have to get under cover!"
Francesca resisted, and Sitto yelled, "There's nothing more we can do for him!" With a final, tearful look back, Francesca let herself be dragged towards the forest by Sitto.
But just then, a familiar golden shape flashed across the battlefield. He dodged the falling arrows that he could, and those he couldn't avoid bounced ineffectually off his large golden shield. Thudd ran to where Benton had fallen and tossed him over his shoulder. Powerful muscles knotted under his burden, but Thudd ran as though unencumbered to where Sitto and Francesca were watching dumbfounded, and then the four of them ducked into the forest, safe for the moment from the Horde's missile barrage.
Thudd set down his burden against the trunk of a huge tree, and Francesca hurried to Benton's side. He was still breathing. There was a deep dent in one of the metal plates on his chest, apparently the arrow had merely bounced off and knocked the wind out of him. Francesca slapped him. "Wake up!" she shouted.
Benton stirred. There was something annoying familiar about this situation.
"Ow," he said.
"Thank goodness you're okay," said a relieved Francesca. Immediately, her attention shifted from Benton to Thudd. She said, "What are you doing here?" A small involuntary smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"I could not let harm come to you or your friends, milady," said Thudd.
"But..."
"Now, we must go and fight. You stay here where it is safe." Thudd indicated that Sitto and Benton should accompany him. They stood, loaded their crossbows, and Sitto drew his sword. They followed Thudd into the woods, ready to fight to the death against the Horde.
Francesca watched Thudd until his golden shape was lost amid the trees. Suddenly everything was very quiet around her. She looked about nervously, then made up her mind. "There's no way I'm staying here!" She got up and ran after the men.