Dark Armor V2 Ch01 SC04

The watchfires were nothing worth noting; he pushed Black to a gallop as he passed between them, letting the cries of alarm grow behind him. They would only add to the chaos and confusion. An arrow shattered against his armor, sent by some sentinel who was both quick and ready; Pallian responded by lifting a hand to toss a small ball of fire behind him. The ball expanded as it rose through the air, became enormous before it hit the ground. The shouted alarms were joined by screams. 

Somewhere, a bell began to ring. 

The Black Knight tossed another ball of fire off to his left, where troops encamped in neatly-organized groups of tents were racing to grab their weapons and join the battle. Ahead of him, a man in silver armor rose up, greatsword rising to cut. Pallian shifted the angle of his lance and skewered the man, then tossed him aside; his armor added to his strength to make the gesture seem casual. 

Another arrow slammed into his breastplate, this one landing much harder than the last. Pallian clenched his knees and managed to stay on his horse, but Black stumbled and only barely managed to keep his footing. Damn it. Where...? 

That hadn't been one of the sentinels. That came from somewhere else, probably the same archer who had tried to murder him and Ravaj from the far side of the ridge. Ravaj focused briefly on his lance, conjuring a bolt of lightning that cleared a path ahead of him. He immediately turned aside from it, and was rewarded when the next arrow skipped off the edge of his shield and enveloped a section of camp in some sort of sticky webs. 

His armor had mapped its passage, and drew his attention to a wooden tower that sat near the center of camp. The archer was there, and--

He raised his shield at the last possible moment, as an arrow struck it hard enough to pierce the steel. It was sheer luck that it hadn't found his forearm. That archer must be equipped with a whole constellation of interlocking initiations to manage this, he thought, simultaneously intrigued and annoyed. The Shadow of Edrias hadn't reappeared, so it was probably off trying to murder Ravaj, but that was a concern for later. 

Black twisted and changed course, and Pallian tossed another ball of fire in what he thought was the direction of the command tents. The way this evening was going, those might be a diversion: large, fancy tents left empty to draw his attention while the archer took shots at him. The fire flickered and was absorbed as it neared them, drained by some sorcerous defense. 

Damn it, he thought again, as Black charged for the tower.