Danny, Mason, Brianna, Priest and Phil lay crouched at the edge of the cliff, watching the immense army of soldiers and beasts march off into the distance.
"Okay... we should regroup with the others," Danny said, edging back from the cliff edge, then standing up. "Mason, can Erasmus get us back to camp?"
"Of course. But he may need to stop for water," Mason replied.
"Sure. I think there's a river in the forest somewhere along the way. You guys ready to head back?" Danny asked.
"That... that was an army. A huge... just a huge army. How are we supposed to fight that?!" Brianna said, a note of fear creeping into her voice.
"They answer to someone, somewhere. They have to. We find the boss and take away their leadership. Simple," Priest replied.
"Let's go," Danny said sternly.
Shortly after, they found themselves in flight. Mason, Priest and Phil rode atop Erasmus, clinging to the bird's huge feathers. Brianna, Danny and The Raptor followed to the left of the great bird.
"There!" Danny yelled to Mason, pointing to the ground. He'd spotted a river where Erasmus could stop to drink.
Moments later, they were on the ground. Erasmus's huge head was lowered to the water, taking in immense gulps of water. The others sat for a moment on the riverbank, savouring the moment's rest.
Their attention was suddenly grabbed by a yell from the opposite bank. Danny looked up to see two men on the opposite bank, filling up buckets with water. One was yelling at the other, pointing at the Vanguardians. They were dressed in the red gear of the archers they'd faced earlier, but lacking any weapons.
"Shit," Danny muttered.
The two archers ran away.
"What the hell?" Priest exclaimed.
"That's bad," Danny said.
"How?"
Mason interjected. "They have obviously gone to report to their superiors about the strangely clad demons and the shiny bird on the other side of the river. We can expect more company very soon."
"Shit," Priest replied.
"That's what I said," Added Danny.
"So what do we do now? Shouldn't we get out of here?" Brianna asked.
"Or do we just wait here to get ambushed by a horde of archers?" Priest asked. It sounded less sarcastic than it does when it's written.
"Neither. We're going to take the fight to them," Danny said. He sprouted wings and darted over to the other side of the river, quickly disappearing in the forest in hot pursuit of the archers.
"Well... you heard the boss," Phil said.
Danny ran quickly through the thick growth of the forest. He'd ditched the wings as soon as he'd crossed the river, and was now using think scales to protect him from the scratches and pokes of the trees that surrounded him. His dog ears heard the sound of the two men disappearing through the forest. His wolf's nose smelled them.
He was hunting. His prey would not lose him.
Following quickly behind him were his teammates. Priest led the charge on foot, while the others were just behind riding on Erasmus.
Danny was stunned to find a path suddenly appear before him. He heard the archers to his left, and shot off down the path. Priest found it soon after him and followed.
Danny noticed a shadow fall over the path . Erasmus was here.
Danny's cheetah legs propelled him forward, and he soon found himself within range of the two men.
He stopped in his tracks when an entire village appeared before him.
It stretched on for what looked like almost a kilometre. Stone and grass huts of varying sizes, most guarded by a red archer. Or a team of them.
The two that Danny had followed from the river appeared to be reporting to a group of their comrades. Their large, fully-armed comrades.
"Shit," Danny heard Priest's voice say from behind him.
The soldiers attention was suddenly grabbed by the sight of Erasmus appearing above them, and landing in the space in front of Danny and Priest.
"Another battle?" Mason asked.
"It would appear so," Danny said.
"Excellent."
