"Okay, let's keep heading--" she cried out as the woods in front of them toppled over, revealing another rider with his snarling steed and, this time, armed with what looked to be a long pole with a metal ball on the end. The horse reared back, front legs swinging, as Roo and Giovanni slid to a stop.

Giovanni swiveled quickly out of the way, eyes darting around the woods looking for an escape path. Was it worth breaking his cover in front of a Lumanlisc? If they wouldn't live through the night, it wouldn't exactly matter.

Roo dived as the creature wheeled towards her, weapon swinging wildly in one hand, and raised her arms defensively over her face as it smashed into a tree. As it wrestled the mace back into its hand, she rolled over and took shelter behind a nearby stone, hollering to Giovanni, "Run!"

Instead of following that advice, Giovanni's hand flashed out-- the gleam of a knife in his fist glinting in the dim light-- and slashed viciously through the flesh on the rider's wrist, hoping to sever some tendons. If he could arm himself with the mace, he could start doing some real damage.

The rider's wrist did indeed fall limp and the mace clattered to the ground; this did nothing to deter the rider himself, though, and his steed, which lowered its head and charged towards him.

The horse toppled over onto one knee, keening in pain. The rider, though, slammed his hands together. The flesh twined to forge a wicked looking blade, which he viciously brought down upon Giovanni.

Giovanni snatched up the mace, much more confident with its heft in his hand. He rounded a tree to avoid the steed's advance, and brought the mace around hard against the creature's leg instead. Horse legs were like toothpicks-- this would certainly take at least the warhorse out of commission, if not the rider.

Giovanni held the handle of the mace up to block the blade, resisting the attack with all his might.

As though confirming his words, a baying sounded some ways away from them, echoed by several similar voices beyond the black horizon. Roo shuddered, grabbing her torn gown and tucking it in her hand. "To Rhea. Go that way."

Her arm hurt fiercely where he held it - she'd rolled on it wrong, and she'd heard a grotesque crack, but there was no time to sit and wail in pain like she wanted to. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Nightrider's mount's leg oddly seize, then snap into place. It was all starting again. She shouldn't have strayed from the path.

"Why, where are you going?"