Shattered Sanity

Once Riven and crew disappeared from the sight of their enemies, they still did not stop running.

Instead, as per Circuit’s plan, they immediately split into two groups of three, with Riven taking Jeff and Matt towards the left while Randy, Batista and Flair continued farther ahead before moving towards the opposite side.

Now that they had successfully lured their pursuers deep into the Northern Forest, the next stage of the plan was to surround them and gradually pick them off whenever someone became isolated or stumbled into one of the remaining traps.

For that to work, however, they first needed to cut off the easiest route back to safety.

So while the Aureate students remained paranoid and uncertain about how to proceed, Riven led Jeff and Matt through a wide semicircular route around their position, intending to emerge somewhere behind them and place his group between the pursuers and the forest exit.

”Make haste, boys. We have to move twice as fast as them if we wanna cut off their retreat....” Riven muttered, as the three accelerated through the woods while maintaining enough distance from the Aureate students to avoid being spotted.

They could not afford to arrive late, because the moment their enemies decided that chasing Riven was no longer worth the trouble, the most natural response was going to be turning around and heading straight back the way they had come.

But, if everything went according to plan, Riven, Jeff and Matt were going to reach that route first.

And anyone who attempted to retreat through it was going to run straight into them.

—----------

Meanwhile, the Aureate students had already started disagreeing amongst themselves.

”I don’t see the point in trying to go after Dawnriver blindly anymore. He could be anywhere by now, and for all we know, he could already be camping near that northernmost log cabin beside the wall.

I don’t advise going any farther while we’re this unprepared.”

One of the students said, as he looked towards the forest ahead.

”So what do you want, eh? You want us to retreat like pussies?” another immediately challenged. ”We promised to capture Dawnriver on the very first day, and if we retreat now, we’re just giving him more time to consolidate his position, or find a way back to Argent castle.”

The man named Jim protested, as he crossed his arms against his chest.

”I agree with Jim, I ain’t retreating either.

Whoever captures Dawnriver and his goons is going to become a House legend,” another student added, as several heads turned towards him. ”I might have been around the fiftieth pick during the House Draft, but this is my shot at earning some real fame.

If I’m one of the people who drags Dawnriver back as a prisoner, then those earlier-round picks who keep looking down on me won’t be able to do that anymore.

To hell with retreat.

I’m taking the risk of following Dawnriver deeper.”

Several students around him nodded in agreement, as the prospect of being amongst those responsible for capturing Riven Dawnriver was apparently worth the danger of continuing deeper into the Northern Forest.

However, not everyone shared their enthusiasm.

”Well then, you can partake in this stupidity on your own. I’m going back and returning with some seniors and reinforcements, because I’m not going to keep playing this game on Dawnriver’s terms.”

Another student replied, as several others immediately nodded alongside him.

”Trust me, nobody hates Dawnriver like me.

In case you people forgot, the bastard knocked me out cold in Professor Mike’s morning training class.

But I still think that it’s unwise to run after him blind.

Especially when he’s clearly been preparing for this sort of a chase for a while.”

Another added, as the resulting disagreement finally divided the pursuers into two groups.

The larger group decided that they wanted to continue deeper into the Northern Forest after Riven, while the others turned around and began making their way back towards the entrance to find reinforcements.

However, between those two groups, there were a handful that did neither.

A few of the Aureate students who had suffered the worst of the earlier traps remained rooted near the same spot, with bruised bodies and limping legs making neither chasing Riven nor immediately walking back particularly appealing.

They watched both groups gradually move away before deciding to remain where they were for a while, as their battered bodies demanded that they catch their breaths and treat their injuries before attempting to continue.

And so, the two groups effectively split into three.

—-----------

”Huff... huff... pant... pant....”

Riven panted heavily as he hid at the designated spot between two thick bushes, having barely made it in time to cover the retreating Aureate group’s path, while nearby, Jeff and Matt appeared equally exhausted from how violently their chests heaved.

”Shh....” Riven gestured, pressing a finger against his lips as faint voices reached them from somewhere farther down the forest path.

The three immediately quietened their breathing as much as possible, while Riven carefully peered through the bushes and spotted five Aureate students slowly making their way towards them.

Unlike when they had first chased after Riven, the five weren’t running anymore, as they cautiously examined the ground ahead and maintained enough distance between themselves to avoid another pileup if someone stumbled into a trap.

”It’s not cowardice to retreat. It’s called knowing when you’re fighting on somebody else’s terms,” one of them said, as he carefully stepped over a suspicious patch of leaves. ”Any idiot can keep charging forward because he’s afraid his friends might call him a coward, but it takes a brave man to admit when he’s been outdone.”

”Exactly. There’s a reason every great general in history knew when to retreat,” another replied. ”General Aurelius abandoned the entire Western Pass when the terrain turned against him, and half the Imperial Court called him a coward for it.”

”And three days later, the army that replaced him got fucking slaughtered,” someone added, drawing several chuckles from the group.

”That’s my point. Bravery without judgment is just stupidity,” the first student continued, as he glanced back in the direction they had come from. ”Let Jim and the others keep running after Dawnriver if they want. We’ll come back with seniors, surround this entire forest properly, and then see how clever those bastards feel.”

”Those idiots probably think they’re going to become House legends if they capture him.”

”They’re more likely to become prisoners.”

The five laughed amongst themselves as they continued walking, completely unaware that the very retreat they were congratulating themselves for choosing had brought them directly towards their doom.

Riven slowly turned his attention towards Jeff, who was crouched behind another bush several meters away with one hand wrapped firmly around the cord connected to the manual-release trap they had prepared days earlier.

Nobody moved as the first Aureate student entered the designated area, followed shortly afterward by the second, while Riven remained perfectly still and waited for the others to follow.

The third and fourth eventually walked inside as well, before the fifth briefly stopped to inspect the ground and, finding nothing suspicious, cautiously stepped forward.

All five were inside.

Jeff looked towards Matt and then towards Riven, receiving the slightest nod in response before a grin crept across his face and he pulled the cord.

SNAP!

”WATCH OUT!”

One of the Aureate students screamed as something exploded from the foliage beside them, although his warning came far too late.

WHOOSH!

A thick branch that had been pulled backwards and secured under tremendous tension tore free from its restraint before sweeping horizontally across the pathway.

”ARGH!”

The branch slammed directly across one student’s upper body and threw him sideways, while another desperately tried to jump backwards only to get clipped across the shoulder and sent tumbling over the pathway.

The remaining three scattered instinctively.

”WHICH IDIOT TRIGGERED THE TRAP?!” one of them shouted in confusion, as Riven finally gestured for the others to move.

”NOW!” Riven shouted, as Storm Aether surged through his legs.

[Lightning Step]

CRACKLE!

Riven exploded from between the bushes before the Aureate students properly understood where their attackers were coming from, as the first movement carried him directly towards the closest standing opponent.

The student hurriedly reached for his sword, however, he never managed to draw it.

Sky-Cleaver’s curved blade hooked beneath the weapon’s guard while it was still halfway out of its sheath, before Riven twisted the halberd violently and ripped the sword completely from his grip.

CLANG!

The weapon disappeared into the undergrowth as Riven’s second step activated almost immediately.

CRACKLE!

He shot sideways towards another Aureate student who had finally drawn his weapon, as Sky-Cleaver swept across before the man could properly raise it and struck the flat of his sword with enough force to tear it from his hands.

”What the—”

Riven rotated the halberd around his body and drove the blunt outer curve of Sky-Cleaver directly across his chest.

BANG!

”UGHH!”

The Aureate student flew backwards and crashed against the trunk of a nearby tree before dropping onto one knee, desperately clutching his chest as he struggled to draw a proper breath.

Riven didn’t pursue him, as counting the first that had been hit hardest by the trap, three opponents had now been taken out of the immediate fight while Jeff and Matt burst from their hiding places and charged the remaining two.

Jeff slammed shoulder-first into the first student and drove him sideways into his companion, causing both Aureate students to stumble into one another just as Matt raced in from behind.

THUD!

Matt drove his boot into the back of one student and sent him crashing face-first onto the ground, while Jeff shoved the other down beside him before either could recover their balance.

”What the fucks going on? Just how many opponents are around us?”

The knocked down student yelled in confusion, however, before either could recover, Jeff and Matt descended upon them, driving their knees into their backs and wrenching their weapon arms behind them before they could regain their footing.

PUGH!

Both Aureate students choked as they curled against the ground in pain, before looking towards Jeff and Matt and then towards Riven, finally realizing just how thoroughly they had been outmaneuvered.

Riven smiled.

”Surrender now, or we break your bones,” he threatened, as Jeff and Matt moved beside him and casually cracked their knuckles while staring down at the five battered students.

For several seconds, nobody responded, until the first Aureate student finally lowered his head and placed both hands behind his neck.

”Fuck....” he cursed, clearly stunned by the outcome, while the others reluctantly followed his example shortly afterward.

”Now that’s a good doggie,” Riven muttered, as his smile widened.

Jeff and Matt immediately pulled out the ropes they had brought for precisely this purpose, before the three began binding the hands of their first batch of prisoners.

In the end, the five Aureate students who had congratulated themselves for being smart enough to retreat became the first ones to be captured.