Evelyn had to dodge to the side as chains shot out and embedded themselves in the woodwork. How did it come to this? The Iron Maidens have deployed a small army to the shame of her and Tristan's existence off the face of the world.

So far she has managed to fend off the forces that got in range of her wrist gun while Tristan tried his best to direct them towards a place where they could hide or at least hold them off long enough for Daniel's forces to reach them. She also had to have a swordfight with her fellow Iron Maiden who somehow managed to leap onto the moving wagon. It was a long and heartbreaking clash but she managed to kick the Maiden off the wagon possibly killing her.

Now at least two Painbringers were coming at them with chains. She had to cut the chains out before they dragged into the gaping maws of the mobile torture devices. Painbringers were like giant wheels that had splits down the center where chains shot out to ensnare their prey and pull them into the hooked and spiked wheels.

She took advantage of the pause in the assault and loaded her gun. She poured gunpower into the barrels and placed the balls afterwards followed by her pressing it down with the attached ramrod resting in her palm. Despite the danger her thoughts lingered on Tristan as she looked at him for a moment.

How much did she really know him? He did not seem to remember but in their drunken stupor she saw his mark as they...She should have never allowed herself to fall into such weakness. She was not even sure if she loved him or if she even can.

Tristan did not comment over the mark and simply smiled to her reassuringly and they continued to go against everything they knew. Did he really love her or were they both victims of the wine's influence? It did not seem as if he loved her the way he ceased to be affectionate the moment he knew her completely and how he pointed a gun to her head.

The thoughts continued to flow in a repetitive cycle of her asking herself simple questions that somehow refused to be answered. "Have we fallen in love or fallen in lust?" she asked herself. "Maybe we do deserve to be purged. The pleasure is not worth the sorrow."

Her thoughts were interrupted as a new chain shot out at her. She dropped the powderhorn and rolled to the side. She looked at the discarded horn as it bled out blackpowder and an idea came to her.

She tore a piece of cloth off the canvanas above her and grabbed the power horn. She shoved the cloth into the hole and put it next to her wrist. She ignited her wheel system on an empty barrel allowing the sparks to shower upon the cloth.

She took the cloth and nurtured the sparks with her own breath. The sparks grew into small flames and Evelyn preyed that her ploy worked as she jabbed the horn onto one of the chain's hooks and released it from the boarding.

She watched for what seemed like an eternity as the magical construct devoured the powder. Nothing seemed to happen and dread took hold when the abomination of iron and magic lurched closer with another tailing behind it.

Suddenly the Painbringer exploded sending huge pieces of shrapnel everywhere. One of the largest pieces embedded into the Painbringer behind it and the metal monster tumbled forward spewing out bits of pieces until it fell to its side dead or at least what could be considered dead.

She did not have time to celebrate though. She wasted the last of her powder and Expurgers upon horses came upon her sides. The men opened fire and she ducked as projectiles sailed over her head.

She got back up before the Expurgers could fire back and shot the one to her right with expert masksmanship despite there being the wagon's canvanas abstructing her vision. The man fell from his horse and his companion to her left fired at her. She rolled out of the side and spun a new barrel into place, in an instant the Expurger was dead and she was down one shot.

She moved to the front of the wagon and was about to order Tristan to head south towards the mountains but he raised a hand towards her. His eyes were closed. Why did she care for this one so?

"Do you hear that?" he whispered with his eyes still closed.

"Hear what?"

"Listen for a moment." he said abnormally calm.

She closed her eyes and listened. Then she noticed the strange sound. She would describe it as something thrumming but carried this sound like tut-tut-tut-tut. She looked up and realized the sound was coming from the sky.

She stared up at the clouds and saw at least three giant birds emerged from the the white. Birds were not made of wood. These were goblin gliders.

Then more strange objects began to emerge from the clouds. Creatures like horses swooped downward as bowlshaped things with spirals over them belched out steam behind them.

Finally out of the largest cloud came a construct the size of a fortress suspended by giant balloons above and enormus rotating blades below. A lauch platform as they called it moved towards them with more and more flying objecting deployed from it until the sky was filling with strange shapes.

Evelyn stared in awe and only two words escaped her lips. "White Wings." she whispered.