The flames from the fire were so hot that Sigmund's men were drenched in sweat as they regrouped and worked in vain to push the blaze back. He was not worried about himself, though he stood close to the flames. He called upon the power of the Light to place an aura of protection around him. He used it to run into the flames and cut down the smaller trees with an axe one of the men carried with him.
For all their effort, the paladin knew that the forest was lost. They could slow the blaze down a bit if they we're lucky, but it was like wrapping linen over a snake bite.
They did not notice the dark clouds overhead, surrounded by smoke as they were. They did notice the rain though. For a few seconds the drops fell lightly, hissing in protest as they splattered into the burning copse of trees. Seconds later a flood of water rushed down on the woods, drenching them all and dousing the flames with one short deafening hiss.
The sky overhead crackled with lightening for a moment, then dissipated leaving the clear sky that had been there before.
"Stand ready, men! There's magic afoot!"
Sigmund's orders were followed by the ringing of steel from hilts. Sigmund did not believe that the person that ended the fire was an enemy to them, but if they thought his troops were responsible for the blaze then there might be a fight borne out of misunderstanding.
A silky voice purred from the treetops behind them. "At ease, soldiers of Stormwind. I can only kill half of you, though my brother would take care of the other half."
Her voice sounded playful, but with a serious edge to it. The speaker was a slender and beautiful (there were few that were not so) night elf. She alighted from the thick tree limb she had been perched upon and smiled at them all with a pearly grin. Her light purple skin and sharp features were exotic and intriguing to the men, as their returned smiles demonstrated.
"I am Ellana, I presume you are their leader?" Her question was directed at Sigmind.
He nodded. "I am, Lady Ellana. I am Sir Sigmund Corsair, but you may call me what you wish if your smile never fades so long as I see your face."
She giggled at him. It was quite entrancing.
"Ahem." Came a deep voice from behind Ellana.
She looked abashed as she said, "Oh yes, my brother, Cepharion!"
Cepharion was taller than Ellana by a handspan, and he was nearly as muscular as Sigmund. The paladin could tell right away that he was a druid, and a powerful one at that. He had little contact with the Night Elves, but they were becoming more common to the streets of Stormwind in these last three years. He had talked with one of their kind at an inn one night. He knew a little about them from this conversation and could tell by the budding antlers on Cepharion's head that he was close to the power of nature.
If there was anything magical about Ellana he could not see it. She wore a silver longsword on her belt and a curved bow on her back. A quiver of arrows hung from her shoulder, her belt, and an interesting set of arrows were strapped to the outside of both quivers. Some were bright red and some were bright blue, but they all looked deadly.
"I thank you for coming to our aid, friend elves. We are in your debt."
Cepharion nodded slightly. "You are a man of great power, Sir Sigmund Corsair. I can sense as much about you. In our haste to reach this blaze we passed a battle site where many dead lay, and one lay unconscious. Why did you leave your injured behind, and how did this blaze start?"
There was no accusation in his tone, so Sigmund took no offense. He told them the account of what had taken place. While they spoke Ellana started looking around the area. By the time they were done she was running back to where they stood.
"I found it. They headed for the hilltops. If we make haste we can catch them by morning!"
Sigmund was relieved, he truly had despaired of any hope of finding them after the blaze.
"Thank the light for both of you. Martin, lead the men back to the battle site. Collect what you can, take Dellin back safely, and leave two behind to care for the dead. The rest of you get back to the horses and get reinforcements. I want the rivers and roads blocked. They will no doubt want to return to their leader and I will not have them waltzing passed us on their way. Go!"
The men moved into gear. He could tell by their expressions that they did not want to leave him to continue on without them, but he knew they would only get in the way. Despite her newfound power, he still knew he could defeat Mageline if he was prepared. Having the Night Elven brother and sister with him would only further solidify his advantage.
Ellana was already in the lead as Cepharion and Sigmund ran after.
Continued in the next chapter…
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