Battle swept past Helbram like a tide. The bandits were caught on the back foot and were pushed back by the initial rush of men from the warehouse. Curses and screams erupted from the bandits’ position as projectiles peppered them from above. In the midst of all of this chaos, Helbram was still unable to move. The spell over him kept a firm leash over his mind and tried as might to push against it, it was to no avail as he watched Marlin retreat into the bandit’s ranks, arrows bouncing off of the ethereal shield that covered him. The halfling swiveled as he found cover behind the bandits and raised his hand.

Three rings appeared around Marlin’s head and Helbram felt the air chill around him. Jahora twitched next to him, her eyes flared as her fingers started to move slowly. In such a frozen state Helbram could only see that as panic, and understood why as a bead of fire formed over the townsfolk, the men unaware as they struck at the bandits in a fury. Helbram thrashed in his mind, barely producing a twitch as the spell locked him in place, only able to watch as the bead started to get bigger, ready to burst into chaos and fire.

An arrow flew from the direction of the town, striking the halfling in the arm through the cover of his men. Helbram’s body broke free from its paralysis as the halfling yelped in pain, but the armored man could do nothing but look as the bead over the townsfolk flared. Jahora’s hands snapped up, a burst of green Aether flowing from her fingers and towards the bead, catching it at the moment of its explosion. A pillar of fire shot into the sky, washing away the cold with a blast of dense heat, but the townsfolk remained unharmed. Jahora fell to her knees as the fire vanished, the two rings around her head fading away as her chest heaved.

“That… was… close,” she said between breaths.

“You need time to recover,” Helbram said, eyes cutting back to the battle, “Catch your breath as we push them back,” flares flew from the bandits’ formation and burst into the sky, “it’s going to be a long night.”

Jahora nodded and retreated back towards the warehouse, passing by Garuf as the older man stowed his crossbow and drew an ax and shield.

“One of these bastards stole my armor,” he muttered, “I’m going to find em.”

“First we need to clear out the men here as fast as possible. Reinforcements are on their way,” Helbram said as he nodded towards the flares in the sky.

Garuf nodded, “Aye, but I can’t guarantee anything if that mage gets another spell off.”

“Leave that to me.”

Leaf emerged from the shadows, bow in hand. His clothes and armor were riddled with cuts and scrapes, but no large wounds appeared to harm the half elf’s body.

He drew back his bow and loosed another arrow into the crowd. Marlin raised his hand and projected another shield to deflect the arrow, but the spell forming in his other hand faded as he did so, “I’m not Jahora but I can make sure the bastard can’t get a spell off,” he looked back towards the warehouse, “how’s she doing?”

“She needs rest,” Helbram said, “it’s up to us to carry the burden for a bit.”

Leaf nodded, “Then let’s get to it.”

The three men readied their weapons and charged into the fray. Leaf remained towards the back of the formation, keeping to the tops of crates and other objects. He silenced any attempted spell from Marlin with a well placed arrow from his elevated position. Garuf and Helbram pushed towards the front, aiding the men at keeping the bandits from gaining any momentum. However, the charge was clumsy, driven by both rage and desperation, a potent formula for an assault but not one for a defensive line. The bandits soon regained their footing and pushed back, halting Helbram and the other’s advance.

“Sheildbearers!” Garuf barked, “Up front!”

The men paused only for a moment, parting as those with shields made it to the front line. Helbram recognized most of them as the adventurers from the caravan. Some of their eyes were panicked, but most kept their gaze forward as they met the bandit’s with their shield’s upright. The formation was pushed back during the transition, but as the shield wall formed momentum began to shift back in favor of the adventures.

“Archers!” Garuf barked again, “focus the rear! Let’s bleed these bastard’s dry.”

Arrows and bolts flew overhead, pelting the back of the bandit’s formation as the shield wall pushed them to retreat. A few arrows flew back towards the warehouse, but quickly died down as Garuf’s formation kept their assault moving. Flashes of Aether surged from beneath the bandits, smothered each time as Leaf loosed an arrow into the crowd. Marlin’s curses grew progressively louder with each failed spell. 

The bandit’s faltered further under the weight of the now more focused charge. Many towards their front stumbled to the ground, trampled over by the shield wall and finished off by the townsfolk that followed. Eventually their formation broke and the bandit’s scattered, leaving Marlin out in the open. The halfling faced the crowd, his eyes alight with fury as fire formed at his palms. An arrow pierced his shoulder, but the halfling seemed to ignore it and maintained the spell's formation. A chill swept over the townsfolk once again, and as Helbram felt it wash over him he charged forward. He met Marlin with his shield, catching the brunt of the spell as the mage unleashed it. Helbram dug his heels into the ground as a jet of flame erupted from the halfling’s hands. Heat crashed over the armored man and his shoulder screamed with pain as he kept his shield against the force of the spell. His hand trembled as he kept his guard, and rage filled the halfling’s screams as Aether swelled in his hands, ignoring the arrow that struck him in the leg. The jet of flames ended with a final burst of fire that struck Helbram like a bull. 

His arm snapped back and the armored man’s mind went white as his shoulder tore open. He bit back the scream that formed at his throat and felt his vision clear as adrenaline surged through him. He tightened the grip around his sword and lunged at Marlin. Another spell had already formed in the halfling’s hands, and his blade never connected as a burst of force surged forward and knocked Helbram off of his feet. A wave of raw power carried him back into the shield wall, knocking the front line over as they absorbed both his weight and the force of the magicks carrying him.

Leaf readied another arrow, but before the half elf could get another shot off Marlin snapped his fingers, producing a blinding burst of light from their tips. It washed over the townsfolk and adventurers, forcing them to cover their eyes. When the light faded, Marlin was gone.

“Blasted…” Leaf cursed, “where did the little shite go?”

Helbram pushed himself up, keeping the weight off of his now bleeding shoulder. Still it flared with pain, and he bit his lip to stifle the groan building at the back of his throat. The rest of the men followed, shaken, but not injured from the blast. There was barely enough time to recover, for as the men got to their feet a chorus of yells swept into the mine. Bandits were starting to flood in from the mine’s entrance.

“There are too many to fight in the open,” Helbram said, “we need to set up a defensive position.”

Garuf nodded, “You’re right. The warehouse is an option, but we’d be packed tight should the mage decide to return,” the older man scanned the perimeter, “There.”

He pointed towards the pillar of light, or more importantly, the open structure that surrounded it. The singular entrance to the compound caught his attention, as well as the numerous windows lining its second story.

“Good, we’ll hold them there,” Helbam said.

Garuf directed the men to the building, keeping those with shields to the back as arrows flew from the bandits swarming in. Most were deflected by shields, but some of the retreating men were struck by stray projectiles. They fell to the ground, arrows protruding from their backs and legs. Garuf fell back with some of the men, lifting the fallen off of the ground and urging them to move forward. Helbram assisted, picking up one of the men on his good shoulder, but still feeling the twinge of pain and warmth that ran down his injured arm. Leaf and the other archers shot back, slowing the advance of the bandits as they were forced to duck for cover. It did little to stem the flow, for their numbers kept pressing them forward.

“Dammit!” Helbram cursed, “We won’t have enough time to organize with them nipping at our heels like this.”

As he spoke he noticed a distortion pulse through the air in front of the bandits, feeling the familiar twinge of Aether that turned his skin to gooseflesh. The air itself twisted and warped before slamming in on itself, producing a clap of thunder that knocked the bandits off of their feet. Their advance slowed as they tried to recover.

“Well… I can’t say that was much of a rest…”

Jahora emerged from behind the crates off to the side of Helbram. Her eyes looked haggard, but she stood solidly on her feet as she met up with the armored man.

“Come then, we need to hurry,” she said.

Helbram nodded and urged the injured man on his shoulder forward. They managed to make it into the structure, the shield wall forming a blockade in the entrance. He left the injured man with the others who were swapping their weapons for bows and arrows. Some lay on the ground in pain, but many of the injured men limped towards the stairs, resolve clear in their eyes.

His initial rush into the building was too hectic for him to notice anything, but as he readied himself for battle he could feel the unnatural density to the air. The hair stood up on his skin, and he could feel a steady throb pulse through the building. The more that he focused on it the more he felt the weight to the air suffocate him, and he knew the source of this sensation was the Ruhian artifact sitting at the center of the compound. The construct of stone and metal continued its function, with bits of its machinery orbiting around the pillar of light that it shot into the sky.

Jahora walked up next to him, the two Aetheric rings back to orbiting around her head. Her weariness looked to be washed away, like she’d just shaken off a severe headache.

“You certainly seem much better,” Helbram remarked

“This place is dense with Aether, should make wielding magicks much easier,” she said, but then her brow furrowed, “More importantly, how is your shoulder? Don’t think I didn’t notice you favoring it earlier.”

“Functional. You and Leaf head to the top, see if you can thin their numbers before they close in on us.”

She eyed him with doubt, but turned and made her way to the stairs.

“Jahora!”

The gnome looked back.

“Keep an eye out for Marlin. If this place is so rich in Aether the man could try striking at us when we least suspect it.”

She nodded and ran up the stairs. Leaf noticed her movements, and nodded at Helbram before following her up.

The armored man made his way to the shield wall, getting his own shield into position. The moment he held it high enough pain flared through his arm once again, forcing him to drop his hand down as he let out a groan through clenched teeth. He could see the bandits in the distance, forming an impromptu shield wall with whatever cover they could find. It proved to be effective, for the hail of arrows that struck them failed to slow down their advance, and their more rigid formation withstood the second shockwave summoned by Jahora. Their archers started to fire towards the second story, slowing the rain of projectiles as they grew closer. Helbram grimaced and lifted his arm once more, only to be stopped by Garuf placing a hand over his uninjured shoulder.

“Best not to do that, you’re not going to be much help holding them back with that injured arm.”

Helbram was about to voice his protest before the older man handed him a spear.

“Better start thinning their ranks while we do that, eh?”

Helbram snorted, “And here I thought us younglings should be taking the burden from our elders.”

“Bah, these bones have life in them yet. No bandit is going to take that this day,” he clasped Helbram’s arm, “I won’t say no to an ale later though.”

“That can be arranged.”

He watched Garuf take position in the shield wall and found a spot of own, sword and shield stowed and spear in hand. The bandits closed in, breaking into a charge once they got within enough distance of the adventurers. Their makeshift shields were still raised, and those at the front wielded spears of their own.