Ares placed his back against the wall and sighed. For all it was worth, trapped between oxen and a hard place, there was a level of comfort from the cold hard earth that was behind him. The fort was a place he had created in order to protect Rivea, and though it had been overtaken, Ares had thought about how difficult it would have been, and how many of his own must have been able to escape due to it’s presence. Ares looked up into the sky and then out to the oxfolk that were charging at him. If he couldn’t go off into the heavens, then perhaps he should head to the- His breath left his lips with a gasp. He looked back to see the oxfolk upon the top of the walls, shooting down arrows. He winced in pain and then dropped down into the ground, shifting the earth away and then above him. He then began to shift more and more earth away as he stumbled and crawled through the small tunnel that he created. Even now he could still feel the arrows deep inside his back. He continued to tunnel through the ground as the oxfolk then crashed down behind him. He filled the hole behind him so the oxfolk wouldn’t be able to catch up to him. He then turned to the side and then began to march off in the other direction for some time before then unearthing the area above and then popping his head out. Seeing that he was far from both the oxfolk and the Reptai, he climbed out. He was discovered soon though as the oxfolk and Reptai both tried to reposition themselves towards him. Yet it seemed as though the oxfolk had given up on trying to attack him, instead going to battle with the Reptai, slowly retreating to the fort as they fought. “Zika! Return to me! Come!” Ares exclaimed as he clutched at his pained chest. Another flash of light appeared as lightning fell from the heavens. Ares looked out to the oxfolk, who had been struck whilst retreating to the fort. When Zika appeared, Ares sat down onto a mound of earth he made as a seat for himself, leaning onto his elbow. “We are pretty fucked right now. The oxfolk have the better ground, they have a fort, and no doubt they still have a few others around.” Ares took in long deep breaths as he looked over to the fort. To think that something he had created would bite him in the ass. Ares let out a hiss, like a basilisk pissed that it wasn’t able to eat it’s prey. Xan stepped forward. He was like a statue, towering over everyone but Zika. “Are you able to call forth the rain?” “Not really,” Ares said. “I can probably shoot some water over in their direction though, why?” “If we are able to combine our powers, we could deal with the oxfolk in a single swoop.” Ares looked over to the fort. He recalled the children and the civilians within the fort. “No. There are children within the fort, I won’t allow them to be harmed.” Xan did not reply, remaining silent as he stared down at Ares. Ares reached up to rub his forehead. He was feeling cold, a cool sweat flowing down his body. He sighed once more and then rest his head into his hands. ‘This is absolutely fucked? What am I going to do?’ He still felt weak in both his heart and mind. His ability to think straight was marred by the fact that suddenly the spectre of worry filled him with a deeper cold. He thought of Lana and his children. They had been in the capital, but what if they had decided to check out the fort for whatever reason. Ares would need to steel himself, for perhaps with every precious second he was potentially condoning them to death. Ares looked up to Zika. “Any ideas?” “We rush them and storm the fort,” Zika said. Ares looked up to Xan. “Speaking of storm, can you do anything else other than the lightning?” Xan shook his head. “Well shit.” Ares sighed once more as he looked out to the oxfolk who had managed to retreat within the fort. He could only hope that behind them the Riveans were coming, hoping that Saykkera had managed to support them and then rallied them. They would have to wait though. It would take a short while for her to arrive at Rivea and perhaps aid them in the fight before she could rally the troops. Best case scenario they appear in a few hours, worst case scenario Saykkera appears within an hour and reveals that Rivea has fallen. “This is absolutely fucked,” Ares shook his head. They had been travelling for so long, so they were exhausted from their travels. Ares wasn’t exactly in tip top shape, and after the meeting with the Silents, he felt worse. He was worried about Emerli and the others, though couldn’t see them around for the moment. “We wait,” Ares said. “We wait for the Riveans to come and assault from behind.” “How can you be so sure they are still alive?” Xan asked. Ares turned to look into Xan’s eyes. “If I know my Riveans, and I think I do, they are some hearty bastards. It’ll take more than these oxfolk to take them out.” He had trained them well enough, or at least he hoped so. “You believe that?” “I have to.” Ares nodded. “If not their King, then who?” Xan nodded. “Then we wait.” Ares began to shape the earth around them, creating a wall around the fort to trap them in. They had a wall a long ways away too, though it was too far away to be useful to him. “Zika, could you post up a few to check the wall? Just in case they have some people at the wall?” “What will you do?” Zika asked. “I’m going to sleep.”