“….I would appreciate it greatly if you would help me.” Bashur said to the owner of the shadow that had fallen across the ground within his tilted cone of vision. The Minotaur braced his hands against the trunk of the tree, and tried yet again to pull himself free with a great growl of effort. The tree creaked in a protest of its own, but after a few moments, the warrior gave in with a frustrated sigh.
No good. His horns were still stuck tight.
“Or, if you are not so inclined, kindly stop staring.” Bashur lashed his tail side to side in irritation. “It’s rude.”
“I outgrew needless destruction when I was still a teenager.” Bashur shook his horn free from another tangling branch, and hunched his form a little lower. “Besides, if I brought down the entire tree, it would not endear me to the local lord. He was upset enough to learn that the Queen had sent a Minotaur to fix his bandit problem…
“I practically am crawling already.” Bashur swung his leg over a tilted log, leanig on a nearby tree for balance. He’d never be able to swing his warhammer - or even draw it - in foliage this dense. “That’s probably why he took refuge in here, rather than returning to the road to try and run.”
Sky stared up at the Minotaur before walking backwards through the foliage, “Well that’s smart, but he won’t account for you much smaller accomplice in the same area. The tracks here seem more recent by the way, so he can’t have gotten far.”
She climbed his shoulder again to help with a stubborn branch and backed away once he was free again.
Not noticing anything amiss behind her.
“…..! Move!” Bashur did not clearly see the source of the movement rising behind his newfound companion, but he saw the glint of steel among the greenery, and heard the scraping of a blade pulling free of its scabbard. With little more warning than a low growl, the Minotaur lunged forward over Sky, swinging a wild fist at the figure that had so suddenly appeared from hiding.
He missed - only striking the ground at the figure’s feet - but his action was enough to ensure that the dagger clattered off his armored pauldron, rather than sinking into Sky’s far less protected back. Still moving forward on his own momentum, and carried further still by the weight of the great hammer lashed to his back, Bashur twisted to the side in an awkward way, hoping it was enough to not bring Sky down beneath his considerable weight.
“Coward!” He bellowed at the criminal retrieving his dropped blade. “Was it not enough for you to hide like a rat? You had to strike a bystander from behind?”
Sky twirled around to see where the threat went and for the first time since meeting her she got serious, "He's moving fast but not far, I think he's going to try and kill you while you're in this predicament. I did catch him off guard though. Does he know magic? Depending on your answer will tell me how far he's going."
