Daybreak had come nearly an hour before by the time Gideon decided it was time to stop and allow his horse some rest and both of them something to eat. He'd found a shallow brook off the main road and tied the horse so that it could graze and water itself.
With only his borrowed dagger, from the soldier's uniform, Gideon went in search of prey. Basing himself among the branches of a fir tree near the same stream, he soon spotted a fat rabbit coming to the water. His dagger found its mark, and soon Gideon had the rabbit skinned and roasting nicely upon a spit over a little fire.
He stretched his sore muscles, hoping for a relaxing few hours of sleep once he'd eaten. His horse raised its head, nickering. Gideon stopped breathing, listening. The birds, active in the trees only a moment before, had gone silent.
Gideon's eyes flew to the tuft of grass where he had buried the remains of the rabbit in order to hide signs of his passing. The dagger stuck there in the earth where he'd left it. He scanned the trees with his eyes only. Nothing that he could see. But he still felt-Gideon leaped from his place on the opposite side of the fire, over the dagger, reaching for the pommel. The slightest movement accompanied by a hiss of air caused him to retract his arm just in time.
A broad-tipped arrow sliced across his forearm, passing on to embed itself in the ground next to the dagger. Gideon bounced once on the balls of his feet and turned in midair as another arrow flew parallel across his chest to sink into a tree behind him.
On the ground again, Gideon spotted two of the bowmen. One of them pulled an arrow from his quiver. The other released his bowstring, sending a wooden shaft straight for his heart. Gideon caught it and dodged the second by mere inches. These men weren't average soldiers by any means. He compared his own uniform with what he saw them wearing and concluded that they must outrank the man he'd assaulted by the main gate of the fortress the night before.
Most likely these were some of the officers which had been trained by The Order here in Wayland. Isaiah's stand against the practice, several years earlier, now seemed like an especially good idea. If only he'd managed to convince the High Priest in Wayland at the time.
Gideon spotted his horse still tied to a branch near the stream. The bowmen were too close. If he got in the saddle right now, with the horse halfway between him and his attacker, they would easily pick him off. Instead, Gideon dodged another arrow and ran away from them.
He moved in a zigzag random pattern, ducking and weaving as he heard bowstrings release behind him. The abundance of trees provided ample cover, but then he heard the thunder of hooves and spotted two more soldiers approaching on his right flank. He was being hemmed in.
Gideon shifted direction again-this time toward the horsemen-the exact opposite of the way any sane man would've have gone. Using the trees for cover, he came upon the horsemen unawares and, without breaking his sprinting stride, leaped up at the first, kicking the man from the saddle with a shot to the side of the head. The second rider pulled up short in a hurry and tried to draw his sword. But Gideon was too fast and launched himself bodily at the man. Both of them tumbled over the side of the horse. The rider landed beneath him, the fall snapping the soldier's neck.
Gideon leaped back into the saddle of the nearest horse, smiling as he found a bow and full quiver attached to the back of the saddle. He kicked hard into the animal and sent it galloping hard for the main road. If the two bowmen were the only soldier's left on his tail, he could at least draw them out of their cover.
No sooner had he come upon the main road than he saw two more riders emerge from the trees behind him on the highway. From the looks of them, his bowmen had now come out of hiding in full pursuit. With perhaps one hundred yards of distance between them, Gideon turned back on the riders and tore off towards them-all three men now in a hard gallop.
Gideon pulled the bow to him and an arrow from the quiver jostling on the back of his speeding horse. He kept an eye on both men-one released and arrow as he nocked his first. Gideon yanked the reins as he saw the man's fingers leave the string. The arrow sailed nearby his left shoulder.
Gideon pulled back on the string as the horse thundered beneath him, bringing the two bowmen near at a frightening pace. His target flinched on the reins, waiting for him to release. Gideon gripped the arrow tightly at the bow and plucked the string as though he had actually released. The horsemen reacted as Gideon had done only moments before, dodging to one side. In a heartbeat, Gideon led his target and let the arrow fly for real. It sank into the soldier's breastplate with a thud. The man fell sideways out of his saddle as his fellow carried on.
Gideon and the remaining soldier now had no time to fire arrows as they would come upon one another in moments. Gideon drew the sword attached to his saddle, a broad scimitar, as his opponent did the same. At the last moment, Gideon hopped up onto his saddle and somersaulted away toward the other rider. The soldier, bewilderment on his face, had no time to compensate for the attack as Gideon used the momentum to slam the scimitar down across the man's shoulder.
Gideon landed hard on the road, but he'd taken down all of his attackers. He took two of the horses with him and all of the weapons-food and water he could carry on the extra animal. His shoulder bothered him a bit after the fall, but he reckoned it a small price to pay for becoming better outfitted for his journey to Wayland's capital and their king.