He grabbed a knife he had on him since his dagger was still over by the tree and charged the line of men. A man with a club edged towards Ellie, and sage yelled "heads up" since he was fighting with two others and didn't see how he could get away and get over to her any time soon. He was already at a disadvantage since he was so much lighter than these men. Heck, he probably weighed less then Ellie since she had a good food supply when he didn't. He was broken out of his thoughts when the edge of a sword nearly took his ear off. He growled and lunged at the man, only to have the other grab the back of his shirt and shove him onto the ground. He grunted, the wind knocked out of him. He tried to sit up but the man knocked him back down and used his weight to keep him still. He stepped on Sage's wrist, forcing the knife out of his hand. Sage gasped in pain and then cursed up a storm until the man slapped a hand over his mouth, effectively cutting off most of his oxygen supply and leaving just enough to keep him conscious. Sage did a mental check of his situation. He could barely breath, had a huge hunk of a man on top of him, no weapon, and dozens of cuts. He wasn't bleeding out, though, so he counted that as a win. He glanced over to see how Ellie was doing, hoping for the best.

she picks up her staff swinging it at the man and hitting him in the head with it knocking him out cold. she held the staff close to her body her hands shaking as she looked over at him. "Let him go!" she shouts at the men as she stood by the water near the man that we knocked out on the ground. she glanced from Sage to the men.

He smiled slightly and then rolled his eyes as the third man started towards Ellie. He went limp, pretending to pass out, and when the man's grip loosened he twisted his body and wriggled out from under the man. He sat up and jogged over to Ellie, catching his breath as he did so. He still didn't have a weapon, but he could fight with his teeth, fists, and nails just as well.

She looked at Sage staying close to him "here" she hesitantly held her staff out for him he could use it better than she could anyway.

He glanced at her questioningly, but he could tell she was sure. He sighed and took it before charging the two men again. He met the first man's sword with the staff, breaking the sword in half before he whirled around and hit him over the head. He was still a bit slower than usual, since he was still catching his breath, and the other man's sword caught his shoulder. He gasped in pain and then spin on his heel, only to jump back when the sword nearly took his nose off. He backed up with a growl, knowing this man was a good fighter and was more dangerous than the other two. "swim into the lake. Hes wearing armor and can't reach you there," he muttered to Ellie.

"I'm not leaving you.." she stepped back her voice shakey as if she was on the verge of crying. she stood in the water watching in fear her hands covering her mouth as she saw him get hit.

He groaned slightly. "Fine. Then see if you can get my dagger while I keep this guy busy." He lept at the man again, and although he had regained his breath at this point, he had lost a decent amount of blood and was tiring. He exchanged multiple blows with the man, and landed a few good hits, but he was cut a few times as well.

Ellie ran to the trees and looked for his dagger, he found the dagger and ran back to them, "I found it" she watched for a moment before jumping on the mans' back and holding the dagger close to his neck the blade cutting his skin.

Sage glanced over at Ellie and grinned. He looked at the man, and could tell he was going to fall back onto Ellie in hopes of getting her off of his back, so sage launched himself at the man again. The man spun to meet him, throwing Ellie to the side. Sage growled and pressed the man harder, and ignored the many hits that were landing on him. He pushed forward until the man's sword was useless and used the butt of the staff to hit him over the head. Both of them fell, and while Sage's head was spinning and he was feeling like he was going to pass out, he grinned since he knew he had won.

Ellie fell to the ground knocking the wind out of her she laid there for a moment before sitting up and gasping for air. she coughs after she caught her breath panting softly she looks at sage.