Yet to be named, pt36

They still had time to get away on horseback. It was still an option. The horse was minding its own business, sniffing a pile of dirt near the gate. IT didn't run away, which was what mattered. But how was he supposed to ride off? The only thing that spoke in their favour was that he stayed awake, albeit barely. That spell almost had him.

So if he was awake, he was also out of the magic's reach. And so was Shirral. He shook her. To no effect. Maybe once the victim fell asleep, only waking magic could wake them up. That would be troublesome. He shook her again, knowing that he could not save them on his own.

She grumbled. That was a good sign. So he shook again.

'Hey, hey, wake up, it's no time for sleeping. I need you awake!'

She gently opened her eyes, shut them and opened violently. He set her slowly on the ground as she spat forth a flurry of questions.

'What happened? Where are we? Why are you carrying me?'

'There was a spell, we're on the street, you were asleep. Can the explanation wait? I may be hurt and the town is still burning.'

'You may be hurt?', she looked at the now bleeding wound. 'There's no time for that, you'll have to hold on for now.'

She led the protesting horse away from the dirt pile and to him, then for the second time that night helped him onto the saddle. The grimace of abundant pain worried her. It wasn't there before. So wasn't the bleeding, either.

'Once we're somewhere safer I'll have a look at it, I promise', she jumped on the horse. 'Right now, we have to go.'

She ushered the horse to go through the gate and away into the wild. They galloped through the moonlit stretch between the wall and forest, slowing down just a little when the trees covered the only source of light with their broad leaves, engulfing them in ominous darkness as they hurried to the next outpost of civilisation, preparing themselves mentally for an eventual ambush. They knew it was coming. The problem, as with any ambush, was that they didn't know when. Not like they could see anything.

And just as last night they fought weariness, running for their dear lives threatened to end abruptly by the hands of the undead.