(OOC: are their faces exposed, just like the captain or do they have some kind of face protection?)
No harm, huh? What a joke!
Ari threw a quick glance at the pair of marines approaching her. It wasn’t hard to tell that these two didn’t hold themselves even with a fraction of the confidence of their leader. On the contrary, they looked like this was the last place they wanted to be.
These two were definitely not returning to their ship, that she knew for sure.
As Ari and Dolphus were leaving the clearing where they had been surrounded, followed by their newfound “guards”, she looked around her, examining the surroundings and hoping to catch a glimpse of the other archers hiding between the trees as she went by.
As Ari walked through the woods in compete silence, she tried to listen carefully to the footsteps of the marines.
They were quite behind and did not let go of their bows. Bad. Even if she bolted towards them at maximum speed, she could bet that she wouldn’t be able to get close enough before they loaded their bows. That’s what she hated about archers so much. They always kept their distance, not giving her any opportunities to attack.
So she could only keep walking towards the mysterious Orchard, getting more and more visibly frustrated each passing minute.
They are leading us straight into a trap, aren’t they?
The group has been walking through the dense woods for quite a while, until Ari started noticing that the gaps between trees became bigger, letting in more light, undergrowth became more rare, it got windier. They were getting out of the forest.
As if confirming her thoughts, a big clearing between the trees came into view about 300 meters away, revealing a big luscious garden consisting of well-kept fruit trees. And beyond it, Ari could barely make out the silhouette of a small house. It was a surprisingly peaceful, pleasant sight and Ari couldn’t help but think just how long ago was the last time she ate.
As they approached the property, reaching the exit of the forest, Ari suddenly heard the footsteps behind her back get louder. Much to Ari’s delight, they were getting closer, closing the distance between them rapidly.
The thing about bows is that they become completely useless once you get close enough. You can’t load an arrow and aim reliably when the opponent is right in front of you, and these imbeciles just did it to themselves.
It was either now or never.
Ari moved her hand, attracting Dolphus’s attention, looked straight into his eyes, gestured towards the two marines with a slight movement of her head and gave Dolphus a huge grin, with a meaningful look in her eyes.