-----Raven very quickly looks at the wagons. He leaps up on the front left wheel of one wagon and firmly grasps the bars in his hands. Pulling with all his might, the sound of metal straining is heard and the Hunter succeeds in bending the bars enough for the prisoners to escape.
-----As Garrison begins hacking at the lock on another wagon, Raven runs to the other three wagons and attempts to bend the bars again. Garrison’s axe breaks through the lock within two swings and turns to help Raven.
-----In the meantime Raven frees another wagon full of prisoners while Garrison bends the bars on another vehicle. Rinda moves to one of the wagons to help the peasants jump down from it.
-----As Garrison moves to try to destroy the lock on the last wagon, Raven looks at Rinda. She nods to him and quickly says, “Go!”
-----Raven motions to Whisper and the pair quickly speed off down the west road toward the sound of fighting.
-----As they pass the last few buildings of the thorp, they see a large mass of figures fighting under the light of the moon. On approach, they can make out four of their party engaged in battle with about a dozen soldiers. Pil savagely takes down a soldier with his sword. Strolum and Dilton continue with strike out at foes although Dilton seems to have been wounded. Jyan, the mage, pulls back somewhat perhaps with his spell work spent.
-----Whisper then notches a few arrows and sends them flying at a few of the enemy while Raven pulls forth his twin short swords. The arrows drop three of the enemy and by the time that Raven meets the first soldier, the fight favors their party. The dozen or so soldiers quickly drops as some of the foe turns tail and runs or is dropped dead in their tracks.
-----Suddenly a sound of hooves is heard as Sol rides in from the tents to the north on Thunder. The Gorian warrior quickly rides down the soldiers fleeing the scene.
-----Soon the sound of fighting stops as the enemy soldiers that stayed lay dead.
-----"We need t'move out o' here fast, Raven." Sol calls as he guides Thunder towards the centre of the thorp. As the Gorian nears the hunter and Whisper, it is apparent that an unfamiliar body is slumped over his saddle. Now passing the pair, Sol explains urgently, "A rider got away - an' their commander spoke o' caravans further down th' road being warned."
-----Raven nods, "Let’s head back and free the slaves. We can then lead them to safety."
-----Sol nods to Raven before turning to the group of four that had been fighting, led by Strolum, "Well fought you lot. Let's head out while we can."
-----Very quickly, the three warriors mount up and ride after Sol while Raven and Whisper race back toward the center of the thorp on foot. Things now seem much quieter in between the buildings though there appears to be a large mass of people close to the wagons.
-----It is evident that Rinda, Garrison and Lovan have helped the peasants from their imprisonment from the vehicles. As the heroes approach, they see that they are mostly peasant-type women and children clinging to one another. Occasionally an old man or old woman is seen among their number. A quick count reveals about a hundred of these refugees. They slowly begin moving away from the slave wagons to sit on the ground a few yards away or look out onto the now barren roads. A few of the now freed captives jump and look as if they mean to flee with frightened expressions on their faces.
-----Sol carefully removes his helmet and hooks it over the horn of the saddle. He then takes off his gauntlets, allowing him to run a hand through sweat-matted hair before walking Thunder towards the group.
-----To Lovan, he hands down the unconscious body that Thunder also carries, and tells the priest to bind and gag the man. He also asks Garrison to retrieve Strolum's group.
-----A compassionate gaze is spared for the confused and frightened peasants, and it's to them that the Gorian speaks in a voice loud enough to carry to the entire group, but is softened with sympathy, "Good folk, my name is Sol Herron an' my companions and I are here t'free you an' ensure yer safety. Firstly, please make sure ye all stay together. There may still be slavers around, as well as some overly bold wolves. My friends an' I can an' will protect you from these, as long as we have ye stay close t'us."
-----With that said, a touch of steel creeps into his tone as he becomes more assertive, "Firstly, do any o' ye know o' somewhere nearby that we can hole up in? Even if it's one o' th' many ruins in th' area; A tower or keep o' some kind?"
-----Whisper starts fading into the background, looking to do the generally unpleasant task of retrieving his salvageable arrows, or their constituent parts.