Arcadian Excerpt

Three raiders darted towards the doorway of the isolated farm-house of Rachette Lanac, braving the bolts coming from the windows of the one-storey building. The raiders were thin beneath their ragged tunics, a desperate expression on each gaunt face, and the blades they wielded showed signs of heavy use. In contrast the man blocking the farm-house's doorway, Rachette's husband Seth Lanac, was well-fed and healthy, muscles tensing beneath smooth skin as he prepared to meet the raiders in melee combat.

Crying out in pain a raider staggered, a quivering bolt sticking from his chest. A feminine laugh came from the left window, a grinning woman's face appearing there, and Seth growled out an admonishment.
"Back out of sight my dear wife. And keep firing that crossbow!"
Seeing Rachette spurred the raiders into a faster run though and the uninjured pair barrelled into Seth, managing to force him back a step. A second woman became visible to them, a crossbow in her hands, and the raiders went to grin at each other, imagining the pleasures they'd take from the youthful women.

That brief distraction cost one raider his head and so his life, Seth's longsword effortlessly cleaving through his neck. The other raider jumped back to avoid a wild swing, jostling his remaining companion, and half-turned as if to flee. A gout of blood burst from his mouth at the same time as Seth's longsword tore from his chest, the crimson liquid splattering the remaining raider.

That broke the courage of the injured raider and he did flee, moving in a stumbling run away from the farm-house. A pair of bolts threw him off his feet, Rachette and the other woman having both fired at virtually the same time, and the raider painfully twisted onto his side just in time for Seth to stab him through the head from ear to ear.

Turning as Seth straightened Rachette glanced over at the other woman, lowering her crossbow with a gentle sigh.
"Daughter." She waited until the other woman crossed to her side. "Travel to Korak-Thiel and tell them that raiders are now active from the Arrow's Path to the north-west road. Do you understand?"
Diana Lanac looked up at her mother's serious expression for a moment before nodding, darting around the farm-house's interior to retrieve her cloak and supplies for the journey.