New Worlds

He nodded, and moments later a couple of dragoons roared at the entrance of the alley way, their riders peering in cautiously. Calay grabbed Torys, and he felt the fast-becoming-familiar sensation of a portal opening beneath his feet. They landed between the two Imperial guards, and Calay swung up onto the first animal, catching the man seated upon it a sharp crack on the back of his neck, causing him to slump forward. Torys turned to the second guard, who was already slinging a heavy metal pellet towards Calay. He opened a portal in front of Calay, and another behind the guard, who slumped forward with a loud crack as the projectile slammed into his helmet, heavily denting it. ‘Get on!’ Calay yelled, already having replaced the first guard, who was now lying face down on the floor. Torys grabbed the Dragoon's reigns, swinging himself onto its back just as Calay had done. He undid the guard's straps, letting the man slide down to the floor to join his companion. ‘Strap in, you'll need it, then follow me,’ Calay instructed. Torys tightened the saddle straps around his body, placing his feet firmly in the stirrups. No sooner had he done this, when Calay snapped her reigns with a flick of her wrists, and her Dragoon reared up before setting off at a startling pace. Torys did the same, soon catching up to her as they barrelled along the streets, heedless of the cries of innocent pedestrians. ‘Try to keep up!’ Calay yelled. She dug her heels into the giant lizard's back, turning the animal towards The Traveller, the massive vine that wound its way around the city. Without slowing, the huge animal leapt, pushing off the side of a building and onto the underside of the vine. Torys, feeling severely shaken by his first riding experience, pulled on the reins, hoping he was doing the right thing. The lizard seemed to know where it was going though, and promptly followed in hot pursuit of Calay's own mount. Torys was hanging upside down, held only by the saddle he'd strapped himself onto. He heard a commotion behind him, and twisted slightly in his saddle to glance over his shoulder. Three more Dragoons were visible behind them, the guards bent low over their animals as they strove to catch up, Torys turned forwards and dug his heels into the animal’s sides. The vine veered up over the walls of the city, and the two runaways held tight as their Dragoons bunched their muscles and flung themselves into the trees. They were now crashing through branches, the Dragoons leaping swiftly from bough to bough. Torys learned to lean low over his mount's back, otherwise he'd be painfully buffeted by tree boughs. He realised that he didn't have the skill to outrun the guards behind him, and decided on fight rather than flight. He focused, placing a portal just ahead of him, and passed through it harmlessly before attaching the other end to a sturdy tree trunk. One of the guards following behind was knocked clean off his Dragoon as he slammed into it, the buckles and straps of his saddle snapping before he was whisked down to the jungle floor. A second guard came abreast of Torys, aiming a lethal looking bow at him. Torys held his hand up, palm facing the bowman as he willed a mobile portal into place, anchoring it to his hand. The arrow entered the portal then shot back the way it had come, striking the Dragoon in its shoulder. The creature let out a piercing shriek as it tumbled forward, crashing through the branches as it flailed desperately for purchase before disappearing into the undergrowth. Torys heard a disturbance to his left and dragged at the reins, directing his Dragoon towards it. He saw the third guardsman launching arrows at Calay as he pursued her, but not for long. As he watched, Calay unbuckled herself from her saddle leaping forward into a portal that teleported her just behind the unfortunate man pursuing her. She cut him free from his harness and threw him down before taking his place on the heaving animal. Her previous mount veered off and swiftly disappeared into the jungle. The two friends reunited, and continued at breakneck speed through the jungle, not daring to stop until they had placed some distance between themselves and the city.