"Why'd you cower when Commander Harn gave you a sour look then?" Pava asked, smiling. "You certainly listened to him."
"ThatI didn't cower! That was my injury, pressin' down on my Mind. If it weren't for that, I'd be out there fightin' now!"
"Sure."
Loquis blocked out their arguing voices. They'd been a "squad" ever since the oasis, Osyk acting as their scout and sometime leader, but the chain of command was fuzzy. Asaad kept trying to assert himself, but while he was good at fighting that seemed to be the extent of his prowess. Well. Fighting and complainingAsaad had rarely stopped bleating since they'd left the jungle. Pava and Geir were far more agreeable, though Pava had a tendency to act before thinking, and Geir was more taciturn than a rock. Osyk was the chattiest of the bunch, but he'd been told to remain with the Dawnguard due to his skill with the spear. He'd smiled and patted them on the back, ordering them to rest while he carried the load a while. Asaad had pushed back, but that was when Commander Harn had moved down the lines, pushing squads back to rest.
A casual Analyze told Loquis that his team was mostly back in fighting shape, save for Asaad's Stamina and the Half-Orc's own Mana. He was exhausted, having spent himself against the undead horde until he had run dangerously low on Mana. Loquis had nearly passed out under the strain, and while he had a potion at his hip he'd long decided to save it for an emergency. He had time to rest now, so he took advantage. If only his Mana didn't regenerate so slowly, the splitting headaches and heaving nausea might have been tolerable. As it was, they had been resting for a solid hour and his Mana was barely back up to a quarter of his maximum.
"aiths!"
Loquis sat up, pointed ears twitching. "Quiet. Did you hear that?"
Asaad, mouth half-open in a rant, scowled at him. "What're you on about?"
"Dustths!"
"That!" Loquis said, leaping to his feet. "Someone is shouting out there."
"Who?" Pava asked, peeking around the barricade. "One of the Autarch's team?"
"Who else dares to be out there?" Loquis asked, breathless. He still felt dizzy from his Mana loss, but this felt important. Urgent. He peered into the crimson-orange haze, beyond the bunching horde of undead and into the swirling black winds of the storm itself. The sand was whipping fast enough that it'd tear even his flesh were he to remain out there for long without a shield or armor. "If it were a Legionnaire they'd have died all alone out by now."
"Dustborn!" came the shout again, this time far more clearly. Loquis gasped and saw the Lady Dayne falling from the skies. Two skeletal creatures fell with her, clawing furiously at the noblewoman's armor and head. "Fall back!"
Without warning, the undead horde before them surged forward. Milky, unthinking eyes suddenly gained a clarity that terrified Loquis, and the Dawnguards' unerring thrusts were turned aside or dodged completely.
"What is happening?" Geir asked, standing to his full height. "The undead, they are fighting."
"Been doin' that this whole time, tiny," Asaad said. "But damn if they're not fighting well, all of a sudden!"
Something exploded in the distance, and Loquis realized he'd lost track of the Lady Dayne...but six more of those skeletal creatures came bounding out of the Cursewinds, their faces half-covered in heavy bone-plating and eyes of pure darkness stared balefully at them all.
"Fall back!"
The shout boomed out, loud enough that Loquis' ears hurt. Harn was running past them, shoving his way to the front while still bellowing. "Everyone back to the Warrens! Now!"
Those creatures barreled into the other undead, tearing through their ranks with sheer momentum and unnatural strength. Hooked talons the length of daggers slashed forward, ripping their way through the horde and toward the spear-line. With measured care, the Dawnguard and Frost Giants began to retreat, keeping their weapons and shields lifted and engaged. Dustwights died by the dozen, but still they came, more ferocious than ever.
Analyze!
Analyze Failed.
Oh no, Loquis thought. His Analyze couldn't identify the oversized undead even a little bit, but they exuded a pressure that he did sense, even from such a distance. "They're strong. Too strong. No wonder we're retreating."
"Oh fuck that," Asaad said, hefting his slender saber. "Retreat? I ain't lettin' all that experience go to waste."
"You idiot!" Loquis shouted as Asaad slipped through them all. He ran from their barricade and toward the retreating line, clearly aiming to claim a few more kills before they fully retreated. "Siva save us from fools!" Loquis muttered.
"Do we follow?" Pava asked, her own blade held in a white-knuckle grip. "Pull him out?"
Geir made a chortling noise like a bear with a phlegmy throat. "It would be...amusing to see."
Loquis grabbed at his hair. "Burning ashes! Follow him!"