A rational part of Lyonel told him that the bandits were aware of his presence as he proceeded further into the mine, but another part of them said that if they were planning an ambush, they were welcome to try, and that the two of them could handle whatever it was these ragged lowlifes had to throw at them. He proceeded deeper into the cavern, and sure enough, in a certain cavern deeper inside, the rats decided to show themselves and surround the two of them, brandishing mostly cheap weapons, with an occasional sword among them.
"Now this is more like it," the knight remarked, conjuring forth a cinquedea in his offhand in order to defend himself from the attackers, eager to engage any that came close enough for him to strike. Three of them did at once, though he sidestepped away from two of them and buried his sword in the chest of the third, before ducking a strike and sweeping out the legs of another, severing one of them in the process before bringing his offhand down and piercing deep into the thug's throat.
He was aware of the hedge-mage before the spell was cast, but there was little he could do to prevent it from hitting them. He heard Kyu crying out as well, and Lyonell said, "Take care of him," allowing the scribe to throw his weapon at the mage and terminate the spell with the swift stroke. He was ready to cast a Dispel Magic spell if it didn't work, as it was one of those "don't leave home without it" type spells, though it ultimately proved unnecessary as the dazing spell was terminated along with the hedge-mage's life.
However, the fact that Kyu was now defenseless meant that Lyonell had to protect him. He removed the arm of a lanceman and kicked the severed arm with the weapon in it over to the scribe to give him something to protect himself with, while moving closer to him and incanting, "Tairais, birk vhira, jiil sthyri." The spell was a dual haste spell, which would slow the perception of time for both of them in order to move faster than their enemies, outmaneuver them, and strike them with lethal precision.
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