"G-- Gestahl . . ." Toushikyo groaned as he fought to remain sitting up, and in the process, hold onto his badly bleeding shoulder-- badly bleeding and terribly painful to boot.

And the way the man, Gestahl his name was, handled Eld was much the same way he handled Etsu-- Etsu, who was defeated before she could even let out a cry of pain. No-- she was defeated before she even could feel any pain. She was simply rendered unconscious within the man's grasp. Not even his full grasp, just his thumb and two fingers. With his whole hand, he would have probably snapped her neck and killed her. Then . . . then this would have been a completely different story.

But nonetheless, the matter-of-fact treatment of an attack was presented to Eld personally. He ran, he ran straight towards Gestahl, fully planning to put distance between the foreboding man and the girl Eld loved-- but in an instant, Eld would find himself stopped.

And then, perhaps after that instant, he'd discover why: he'd have tripped. Tripped and fallen face first into something he wouldn't quite have the time to notice. All he'd find out was that it was going to hit him-- very, very hard.

And just like being mysteriously tripped, it was unlikely he was going to avoid it, and soon find himself first in the air-- and then still in the air, and then in the air for a brief moment longer . . . and then, finally, the ground.

Gestahl. This was the man in charge of these people...then, if Eld could beat him, he could potentially force an end to all this--force them to leave him alone, to return the villagers and merchants to normal, and to leave and not bother again. Or would that not be enough? Would he have to kill them all?

All the more focused in his attack, it came as a sudden surprise to find his foot hitting a rock, and sending him sprawling towards the ground--it shouldn't have been possible. He wasn't that careless, to trip over something like a rock in battle.

And as he sprawled forward, his options were limited--he couldn't risk driving the scythe to the ground for balance, in fear of accidentally hitting Etsu, so all he could do was roll with it; he managed to avoid injuring himself and come out on his feet, but he was also open to attack while he did...

Yet still, the initial stumble was enough. Eld would be thrown much less far, with far less damage involved, but he'd suddenly feel it just like he did before-- with . . . a rock?

Master, watch ou--

Kageko wouldn't even have the opportunity to shout a warning at Eld. She didn't even feel it until it was too late. But then again, how could she? How could someone feel an attack from the earth itself? An outside force was one thing, but this was . . . this was the world. This was the feeling of an accidental and oncoming trip, nothing on purpose-- a complete accident, even! Gestahl couldn't have been doing that on purpose-- no, that wasn't it. It wasn't on purpose at all. It was just a byproduct. A byproduct of what he could do. How could someone anticipate that the world itself was going to crush you, until it was too late to do anything about it?

Eld would feel it in his gut, and it would no doubt bowl him over. It would be like taking a punch to the gut, except the person punching him might as well have been Gestahl's size, if not larger. No, larger. It was like taking a punch from the earth itself.

In the most literal of ways.

It was a pillar of rock, erected from the earth in less than half of a second. A fraction of a second, really, before an insurmountably thick pillar of earth would pound the very briefly stumbling boy in the gut and lower chest, and continuing to rise until throwing him off . . .

Doubled over and recovering, he could not avoid it. Only Kageko's warning told him anything was coming at all, but by the time he heard it and made sense of it, it was too late. Something hit him, hard, from right below him--from the earth itself.

But even more than the blow itself, it send him rocketing into the air, only for him to tumble back down to the ground and he slid off the pillar. This time he didn't have the presence of mind to roll; he landed in a heap on the hard ground, coughing up some blood.

He still clutched Kageko out of sheer stubbornness, but his limbs shook in an effort to raise him up. For all his powers, his body was still human--it couldn't take much more than that of a normal person before it gave out.

In the end, however, Eld wouldn't have to try very hard to get up. He'd feel something under him, moving slowly-- gently, something to lift him up. The ground. It'd hoisted his head and shoulders up first, and then his middle back, at much lower level, with stability between mounds of dirt, all heaped together and a shallow slope. It was produced gently, yes, but that didn't mean it was going to be necessarily comfortable. The ground was still hard and rocky. Gestahl had no reason to make things comfortable for Eld. In fact, it would defeat the whole purpose of fighting him.

In Eld's state, it was unlikely that he'd hear a distant sound. For Gestahl and Toushikyo-- they simply didn't give a damn.

Toushikyo had gotten up by then. He was shaky on his feet, and couldn't do much offensively at the moment, considering his injury, but he could walk. Still, though, he held his left hand over his wound. It was a little gaping, truth be told, and ensured that he wasn't going to be in fighting condition for some time. Nonetheless, Toushikyo moved to stand before Eld, while Gestahl didn't move. Toushikyo kept a distance enough to be out of range of Eld's scythe, though. Just in case . . .

"Make your miserable lives useful," he spat, albeit painfully, "Set the scythe down."

Eld blinked in surprise, feeling as though the ground was rising underneath him, and slanting, until it provided a sturdy (if uncomfortable) surface to lean on while he caught his breath. It wasn't easy; that was possibly the hardest he'd ever been hit, and straight to his gut, too.

"...You have no idea what it is, do you?" he asked rhetorically. It was pretty much clear that whatever these people wanted the scythe for, they were mistaken about its powers. Toushikyo had implied earlier that he thought it could steal someone's soul or the like, and it was obvious they were clueless to the presence inside.

"I'd explain it to you, but I'm sure someone like you wouldn't care. I wasn't lying when I said I'm probably the only person who can use it, though." Kageko was loyal to him; he couldn't see her offering her powers to just anyone who picked her up. Giving her up was out of the question, but...how could he fight someone who could attack with the very ground under his feet? Even borrowing Kageko's senses, he couldn't feel the attacks coming.

M-- Master-- you really do not know . . . ?

But it wasn't like Kageko really had the time to explain what she meant-- nor was it likely that Eld was going to care right now, anyways. Etsu was hurt, and Gestahl hadn't budged. Etsu reminded by his feet, limp, but still breathing.

"Fine, then," Toushikyo replied, "I do not care for your ignorance, nor do I care for your life. Or her life. It would be better, perhaps, if the both of you ceased to be."

Toushikyo took a couple of steps back.

"Let us turn this necessity into reality," Toushikyo remarked as he glanced back to Gestahl.

It was a horrible situation, but after the blow he'd taken from Gestahl, it was unlikely that Eld would have the strength in him to fight back against whatever it was Toushikyo and Gestahl had in mind . . .

The situation was dire, and fighting wasn't an option--if he was on his own, he could potentially escape, but there was zero chance of him leaving Etsu here. And while Gestahl seemed at least uninterested in her, Toushikyo was clearly willing to kill her along with him.

Kageko, if you know something that could help, now would be a really good time to tell me. The urgency of the situation overrode his usual politeness--at the very least he'd need to do some fast talking if he wanted to even stall long enough for her to tell him.

"Aren't you listening? Kill me and you'll never know how to use it--and if you kill her, I'll never help you." This was less a certainty and more an educated guess, but he was fairly sure of it. No one else was able to hear Kageko, and even speaking the same words Etsu had been unable to activate her. To anyone else, it was nothing more than an old farming scythe...

It . . . it is of no-- M-- Master-- if you can run, you must!

It was right when she said that, though, the sound from before had become much louder, much clearer, much more . . . defined. So close-- no, not it wasn't even remotely distant anymore. It would be a familiar sound to Eld, but not to Toushikyo. It sounded like . . . hooves?

And in an instant, Eld would be snatched up. At first, he'd just see a brown blur. And then, something would grab his bicep. And then he'd be lifted up, up into the air, hoisted as much as he could be hoisted. The ground beneath him would be moving so fast, it would be like a blur, and that brown image from less than a second before would become one of the only things that would no longer set as a blur in his eyes.

A horse. A horse with a rider, tensely holding him up by the bicep. A rider with long red hair, glasses, and a determined gaze onward. She was tensing as much as she could, lifting to the best of her strength, with all things considered. A girl, a girl his age, familiar, of course. He'd grown up with her, after all! She had on a jacket and shorts, two things just thrown on as quickly as possible, before departing from home as quickly as possible, on the second fastest horse she owned.

Eld was safe like that. He would be suspended, kept up enough that he wouldn't be dragged on the ground, but she could only hold him up so much while still keeping the horse under control, and balancing herself while moving at this speed.

"Eld!" she shouted, only to strain shortly thereafter, "Climb . . . up . . ."

Huh? Don't tell me the horse came back... If it did, it was a little late now; there was no way he'd be able to get Etsu and climb on before--

He didn't have anymore time to think about it, because he was suddenly airborne again--no, not quite, the horse had come by and someone had...grabbed him? It took him only a few moments to piece together what happened, especially when a familiar voice urged him to climb up.

"Sarah?! What are you--no, nevermind, we have to go back!" he exclaimed. "We can't leave Etsu there!" He'd sooner take his risks fighting them than leave her in their hands, especially with someone as violent as Toushikyo. If anything happened to her...he wasn't sure what he'd do...

Once Eld was on the horse, he'd be able to hold onto Sarah rather than he hold onto him. Riding at really high speeds like this required a lot of effort on her part. She had to keep everything balanced and under control, and could only worry about things like balancing Eld for a brief moment or two. For his own sake, he'd have to hold onto her.

Which became evident to her after only a moment.

"Oh, f--," she started, but immediately interrupted herself: "Hold onto me!"

She hadn't deviated from the forward path just yet. She couldn't have the horse do that all that quickly, not without slowing down at least, which she'd have to do in just a moment, as they had a problem on their hands: the ground was rising in front of them. It was like a wide piece of real estate, possibly an entire foot thick, rising before them. If Eld didn't hold on, he was going to get thrown off, because Sarah was damn sure she wasn't going to let herself get boxed in.

So, she slapped down with the reins, let out a shout for the horse to recognize, and gently tugged back. Without skipping a beat, the horse jumped. The wall had just started to lift, and was going slower than what Eld experience, but then again, they were already quite distant from them. Her horse could clear it, easily, after which she was willing to slow down and turn it around.

She brought her horse damn near to a stop, a slow enough speed to turn her around and settle for a brief moment. She'd have to hit top speed again if there were any hope in succeeding in this . . .

"You cannot be serious," Toushikyo growled under his breath.

But Gestahl seemed unfazed by it all. He simply looked down to the unconscious Reaper by his feet. Without skipping a beat, he bent down and took Etsu by the the waist. She was thrown over his shoulder like a rag doll. He wasn't rough with her, though. He could have just killed or maimed her on the spot, but he made sure to be gentle with her. He held her steady by the legs, so she'd have no risk of falling off of his shoulder.

"Thirty six hours," he declared outright, gazing across the distance at Eld specifically, "And I expire her. Trade scythe for her unharmed at the time. Walk home free."

Toushikyo could only flash a glare up at Gestahl, "Wait, what? You are going to negotiate with him?"

"We will be waiting." And that was that. In an instant, Gestahl was covered in gray, white, and black, a billowing mist that was completely temporary. It carried forth a bass ridden and hollow groan, unnatural, yet at a high tempo, only to fade just as quickly as it came. And then he was gone, taking Etsu with him. Toushikyo could only level a hateful glare at Eld, before inciting the same mist as Gestahl's, disappearing in the wake.

Eld didn't need to be told; he may have been a decent rider, but he was nowhere near Sarah's level, and she was going too fast for even him to be comfortable. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held on for dear life; she might be surprised to feel that he was far colder than the current weather should have warranted.

He gave a yelp of surprise as the horse leaped over the rising wall of earth in front of them--Gestahl had intended to trap them, but had been foiled. How could she even get the horse to do that, though? She may not have been a fighter, but Sarah was pretty amazing in her own right. But as they turned around...

"Etsu!" Eld cried, but Gestahl and Toushikyo vanished into...mist, it seemed. "Damn!" He'd been beaten--pretty badly. It had only taken one blow, too; an attack he couldn't avoid, and even though he wasn't severely hurt it had put him out of the fight effectively.

Exhausted, he slumped against Sarah's back. Thirty-six hours. What was he going to do...?

Eld had effectively declared her thoughts on the matter. She was about ready to shout at them, too, right as they left. But there was nothing they could do, was there? Shouting their lungs out would've just made the next thirty six hours that much more a pain, wouldn't it?

Sarah wasn't the type to think that far ahead, and no doubt would've shouted her lungs out if she damn well felt the urge. "Damnit! What the fuck-- did they just wimp out or what?!"

And for once, she didn't want someone to wimp out of a fight, because apparently wimping out for these people entailed them disappearing somewhere, never to be followed, it seemed! Eld would feel it, too. The traces of their Qi was gone. They had disappeared completely, gone somewhere distant. Somewhere they weren't going to be followed.

Master, I am . . . I am so sorry . . .

Objectively, it was probably for the best that they'd run. Eld couldn't fight the very ground under his feet, and it was possible Gestahl alone could have killed them--and Sarah too. Or incapacitated them and let Toushikyo do it, which was likely their fake if he hadn't been rescued.

That didn't make him feel any better about leaving Etsu behind, though, even if there was nothing he could do to follow them. Their Qi was gone, and even though he knew they were supposed to be in Galaens, finding even a handful of people in a city that big in such a short time was impossible. He wondered if he was supposed to find them, or if they'd just come to him after the thirty-six hours.

"I'll save her," he muttered. He'd find a way--he had to. Handing over Kageko wasn't an option, nor was letting them kill Etsu. He needed to recover, figure out a way to beat Gestahl, and rescue her, all in the space of thirty six hours.

In way, it was almost as if Eld didn't have to say it at all. Sarah had figured as much as soon as she got her frustration out. Of course Eld would save her! That was just the kind of person he was-- a hero, one might call him. It was unlikely he'd ever call himself that, but still . . .

"Let's go back to Hillcrest," she remarked.

Sarah lightly tapped on the horse with the reins. The horse started to walk, a little slow at first, but accustomed to Sarah wanting raw speed out of her, she was unlikely to go slow for any length of time. For now, though, Sarah wanted that. It would be hard to talk if they were racing past Galaens and heading back home like two bats ran out of hell.

"For now," she added, before glancing back to him reassuringly, "Okay?"

For now. She implied they might stay back for a period of time, before Eld came back. If not here, then somewhere close by, sometime in the next thirty six hours.