He watched as the man seemed to vibrate for a moment with the glee of a hunter spotting his prey. "You will regret that you didn't run away like a screaming toddler, you puny and insignificant human. You have no idea the power I hold."
Donn watched the armored man for a moment, not moving as the enraged man ran straight at him. At the last second Donn feigned left but moved quickly to the right. Cimeies tried to correct his trajectory but he was moving too fast and as he turned to come at Donn a second time he had already moved closer to the trees. Donn held his fists in front of him in a confident stance, a smirk on his face. "Oh Cimeies, when will you learn? You are larger but I am faster and smarter than you. You're too stupid to realize you are outnumbered and outsmarted in every way." Donn laughed a cocky laugh and dashed into the woods where Finn And Kit were waiting with the trap. The armored man ran at Donn with a mighty swing of his massive sword but Donn blocked the blow. Donn kicked out with his feet trying to knock over the large man and catch him off guard. Donn fell on his butt with a shocked expression on his face and looked scared as Cemeies took a step and then a second step toward him. Donn screamed "Now" and Finn and Kit sprang out of the trees, rope in hand as they ran laughing around the very confused man. Cimeies tried in vain to cut the rope but his sword couldn't cut the rope as it got tighter and tighter around him, knocking him off balance as he boomed to the ground and Donn sprang up from the ground with a huge smile on his face. "Spirit rope, isn't it amazing. You can struggle all you want but you're not getting free."
At that moment Cimeies laughed, " Oh you think you have won, but you have forgotten about one thing." The armored man whistles a high pitched whistle and in the distance they hear the galloping of a large horse. Tearing through the trees, a horse blacker than night appears stomping its massive feet, ready to crush anyone who comes near it. She rears up and kicks Kit square in the chest, Finn and Donn watching in dismay as Kitt flies 20 feet and smacks into a tree, crumpling to the ground and not moving. Donn moves to protect Kitt as the horse gets closer to Kit but the horse turns to run at the sight of Donn with sword in hand. The animal ran into the trees and Donn followed, shouting for Finn to check on Kit and watch over the demon who was still tied up.
Donn reached deep within himself and searched for the direction the horse went in. He felt the pull and followed it, letting his instincts guide him. He moved with an ease and grace as he followed the horse and spying it near the river he paused. He could sense the animal's heart slowing down as it calmed and stopped to drink some water. Donn stalked slowly toward the horse, watching for any signs that the horse sensed his presence. Donn sent a wave of calm toward the horse and bowed slightly to the magnificent creature. The horse stiffened and seemed to consider his offer of peace and dipped her head in acceptance. Donn moved toward the horse with outstretched hands and placed his hand on the nose of the horse. The horse visibly relaxed and allowed Donn to take her lead. Donn produced an apple from his pocket and fed the horse. The horse crunched the apple with delight and snorted her approval. Donn clicked at the horse and was soon on her back. Donn headed her back to where he had left his friends and the demon, the now former owner of the horse. Donn could sense that the horse's allegiance had changed, and they were now friends.
Donn approached the trees where his friends had been and saw with dismay that the demon had somehow gotten loose from the spirit rope, which had never happened before, and Finn lay in a crumbled state on the ground. Donn ran to his friend and rolled him over, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw that Finn was still breathing. He had a bump on his head and a bleeding scratch on his arm. It seemed that Cemeises was more powerful than Donn had thought and had gotten free, and attacked Finn. Not far from Finn, lay Kit at the base of the tree and running over to him, he too was breathing but unconscious. Finn groaned, and put his hand to his head as he tried to sit up but thought better of it as his head spun. Finn blinked at Donn and looked around in a panic. " The man got loose and attacked me. I fought back but he escaped. I'm so sorry, Donn. How is Kit?" Donn hugged his friend and told him of his hunt for the horse and how she was now on their side. Donn described the heart wrenching scene he had returned to, and his fear that both his friends had died. They worked together to look over Kit and try to wake him. After bandaging a few broken ribs it was determined that Kit would be ok, just sore and broken for a while. Kit was still a bit dazed but after a healing potion he was ok to stand. Kit was a bit embarrassed that he had gotten so hurt but after seeing the size of the horse, they agreed he was lucky to be alive. Donn introduced his friends to the horse and the horse to his friends. After a moment of consideration she nodded her approval and the four of them were now friends. "Her name is Twilight, and she will be traveling with us from now on," Donn stated happily. Finn and Kit nodded their approval and it was settled.
Donn asked "Finn, which direction did the man run off in?" Finn pointed south, back to Burch. Donn replied "Well that's not good." Donn jumped to his feet and rushed to help Kit and Finn hop on Twilight. Donn and Twilight ran as fast as they could to catch the man before he was able to cause too much trouble, but when they reached Burch they found that they were too late. The man was already on a rampage and destroying everything in sight. Adia, seeing Donn and the others, came running "Oh thank goodness you're here. I thought you were going to distract him, what happened?" "I don't know. We captured him with the spirit rope, but somehow he escaped." Adia was shocked and said "We'll solve that problem later, right now we need to stop him from destroying the town." Donn responded "Okay, but where is everyone else" "Follow me" replied Adia.
Adia led Donn slightly outside of the town where a group of people were waiting. Donn sighed with relief when he spotted Stellen, Baylin, and Darya safe but dirty and bleeding. Donn ran over and hugged his friends, explaining what had happened in the woods. "The spirit rope has never failed us before, this demon must be powerful indeed," Stellen said with a look of disbelief on his face. "Finn, Kit are you two ok?" Finn and Kit nodded in agreement and Stellen looked relieved. The group was finally back together, but that wouldn't last long.
A big burst of energy came from the town accompanied by the screams of the residents who have yet to escape. Donn always ran toward danger, and this time was no different. When Donn arrived he froze, the sight of bloody bodies spread throughout the street gave him chills. Smoke from the fires that were growing rapidly blurred Donns vision and made it hard to breathe. Donn covered his face with his sleeve and rushed to check if any of the townsfolk were still alive. Before he could help anyone escape, Donn spied a figure in the corner of his eyes. The smoke and ash obscured Donns vision but he could still make out the figure, it was a skeleton clad in old, decrepit armor, it carried an iron sword and shield ready for battle. The skeleton retreated into the flames and vanished, Donn wanted to chase it but the fire was too big and he wasn't willing to get too close.
Donn only had a moment to worry about the strange skeleton, as a scream for help came to his ears. Donn looked around quickly and found a small boy shaking a woman who was unconscious on the ground. He ran over, and made sure the woman was alright then picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder as if she weighed less than a feather then grabbed the hand of the little boy and ran back to his friends. When they got back Donn looked for a doctor among the group of people to help the woman and child. The woman was in bad shape from inhaling too much smoke but the boy seemed mostly alright. The boy wouldn't stop crying so Donn tried to comfort him, "It will be alright, why don't you tell me your name and how old you are." Donn said with a soft tone. The boy sniffled "I'm Owen. I'm nine." "Owen is a great name." Donn said. He ruffled the boy's hair playfully and the boy offered him a small smile in return.
"Did you see the skeleton soldiers?" Stellen asked the group. Donn nodded but the rest of the gang looked confused. Owen spoke up, "I saw them come out of the woods and then they started setting fire to the village. They looked very scary but the uniforms they were wearing looked familiar." The group looked around at each other and Donn made a signal to break away from the survivors to talk in private. "We'll be back in a second,Owen, stay here and wait with your mom." The gang walked a few feet away to talk strategy.
After they were ready, the gang rounded up all the people who weren't injured and asked if there were any willing to fight for their home. The people were hesitant to speak up, but one man in the far back raised his hand "I'll help, I can use a sword." He pushed his way to the front and turned to face the large group of townsfolk, "Come on guys, this is our home, we have to do something. We must fight to protect the things we love." The man's words echoed in the minds of the townsfolk and they considered it for a while before another person stepped forward prepared for battle. It was a woman, she was tall and thin with short brown hair. She spoke loud and clear "I'm in. I can't stand by and watch those things destroy my home". The crowd looked around at one another and one by one volunteered to fight. Those who knew how to use weapons got ready to fight, and those who didn't helped on the sides using the skills they've grown over the years, like caring for the injured, and cooking meals, some even fixed up weapons that have rusted, collecting dust over the years. It wasn't easy getting some to stay behind because they were injured but it worked out in the end.