Chapter Fourteen
The Last Elemental Sorcerer
MELODY
"Hey, you sure this is gonna work?" Anna asked impatiently.
"Have a little faith, Princess." Tracy shot her a sly glance and closed her eyes.
The Warriors had entered the Crossing Zone, but none of them knew how to get to Quodrun, except that it was located on the opposite side of the sea, south of Arendelle beyond the kingdom of Denmark, with the city nesting somewhere past its borders on the hills. There was virtually no other way for them to get there, apart from Maui flying them there. But even then, that would consume too much time. Time they did not have. Now that the League had Elsa, the Pilgrim was going after the last Elemental Sorcerer in Quodrun and every moment the Warriors spent idle, the League was one step closer to reaching Will Daltrey before they did.
Tracy opened her eyes. "Got it. I think." She only had a few minutes to study a world map from the queen's private study, and had pored over it with intensity. Now, it seemed that her efforts had paid off.
"You think?" Melody raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, the mystic arts ain't always a precise science, y'know." Tracy said nonchalantly, and pointed her hand at an empty spot in the Crossing Zone, conjuring up a new Crossing Point.
"You made sure we're getting out on even ground this time?" Kristoff had not forgotten the humiliation he had suffered back at the edge of Arendelle.
"Yeah, always." Tracy grinned cheekily at Kristoff who scowled.
"Let's go." Anna was the first to emerge out of the Crossing Point, and struggled to adjust her vision in the dark of night. The rest of the Warriors exited from the Crossing Zone and joined her in the streets of the city that were dimly lit by a few lamp posts along the road, looking around at the buildings around them.
"So this is Quodrun." Maui said.
"So any ideas how we're going to find our mystery man?" Kristoff asked.
"Do you think you can sift out magical energy signatures?" Melody turned to Tracy.
"What, you mean like how Moana used to do?"
"Something like that."
"Wow." Tracy said. "I mean sure, I could try. It just seems like I'm doing all the heavy lifting here."
"Do you know any other sorcerers who could pull it off?"
"Fine, I get the point." Tracy rolled her eyes. "Just gimme a minute." She chanted an incantation not very fluently under her breath, digging deep into the recesses of her mind to find the words.
"How long is this going to take?" Anna asked.
"Done." Tracy pointed to a cluster of houses opposite a tall building from where they were. "There."
"Keep on your toes." Melody gripped her bow, leading the way towards the estate where Tracy had indicated. "We don't know if Will is hostile, or how powerful he really is. Our goal here is to protect him and get him on our side. He could be a valuable asset against the League of Sorcerers and in getting Elsa back."
As they arrived near the estate, Melody looked up at a multi storied building opposite the cluster of houses. "We should split up," she said. "If we could figure out where Will was, so would the League. We need lookouts," She turned to Tracy and Maui. "Remember our strategy in Agrabah?"
They nodded. Their very first battle against Major Kane when Elsa was still on their side. The Snow Queen had nested herself up on the rooftop above the marketplace to watch for their enemies' arrival, and it had worked out well…up till the point when Major Kane decimated them with his black magic.
"Anna. Kristoff." Melody turned to the couple. "Could you get up to the roof and keep a lookout for the League?"
"Sure," Anna nodded earnestly. "But how do we warn you if we see them approaching?"
"Holler if you have to." Tracy said. "It's not far away."
"And one more thing. If our position in Will's house is compromised and the League gets in," Melody glanced at Tracy. "Tracy, you're going to have to open up a Crossing Point and send Will up to Anna and Kristoff for safe keeping if we're compromised. The further Will is from the League, the better."
"Something like a game of hot potato huh?" Tracy grinned.
"Yeah, something like that."
"Alright then." Tracy opened up a Crossing Point, and ushered Anna and Kristoff through.
"Wait," Anna said as they entered the Crossing Point and noticed that Tracy didn't follow. "Don't you have to come into the Crossing Zone with us to open up another portal to the roof?"
"Not always," Tracy winked and closed the portal. Then, craning her head back, she lifted a hand to the sky and opened up a portal facing down. Anna and Kristoff tumbled from the Crossing Point that had been opened up in the sky, and collapsed in a heap on the roof. "Whoops." She snorted and Melody rolled her eyes.
"Come on, we should go." Melody continued leading the way, and Maui and Tracy followed behind.
They approached the estate of houses, and as they got nearer, they could see that the exterior of the houses looked run down. They were made out of bricks, wood and any other bits that lay around. It was obvious that this part of the city was for the less fortunate people. After asking the locals about Daltrey's home, they were steered onto the right path, heading down an unsealed road of dust and soil towards his house. They constantly received suspicious stares from the locals who weren't used to seeing foreigners in their land, but pressed on towards their destination. Finally, they arrived at the backyard of the Daltrey household, and Melody knocked on the door. They waited with bated breath, and finally the door opened and a boy poked his head out.
"We're looking for Will? Will Daltrey?" Melody said politely.
"That's me. Who are you?" The boy asked nervously.
Melody gave Will's appearance a quick glance. The bespectacled boy was lanky and had curly black hair, with perspiration running down his face, soaking his already damp clothes. Dressed in a simple grey long sleeved t-shirt and cargo pants with thick gloves on his hands, he looked like he enjoyed a simple life away from magic and the dangers it brought with it. And to think she was under the impression that he could have been a dangerous, power hungry magic wielder!
"You're…Will Daltrey?" she asked again.
"Yeah." Will said. "What can I do for you?" he glanced at Tracy and Maui who stood behind. "Why are you all here?"
"Listen man," Tracy began. "Your lif-"
"May we come in for a moment?" Melody interrupted before Tracy could do any irreparable damage. "We have something important to tell you."
"Oh…kay?" he moved aside to let the three Warriors into his house, and shut the door.
"You're a carpenter?" Melody asked, looking around at the furniture. Most of the furniture looked like it had been hand carved and had a fine touch to it. She could see tools piled up in one section of the house, and wood shavings were strewn all over the floor. In the corner, was an unfinished piece of furniture.
Will nodded. "Sorry about the mess." He pulled off his gloves.
"Are your parents in?" Maui asked.
"Nope. Never knew who my folks were," Will placed his gloves on a table casually. "For the past eighteen years, it's been just me here."
"I'm sorry." Melody said. She'd always lived a life of privilege and it pained her to see others her age living under such circumstances. It must have been so hard for someone like Will, yet he looked like he was coping just fine without any complaints about his life.
"Don't be," Will gestured for them to sit on the chairs that he had made. "Now, what can I do for you?"
"Right," Melody glanced at Maui and Tracy and cleared her throat. "My name is Melody, and these are my friends Tracy and Maui."
Will nodded politely, pushing up his spectacles to rest on the bridge of his nose.
"We have something urgent to discuss." Melody continued. "But first, let me ask you a question. All your life, have y-"
"Oh come on," Tracy cut in impatiently. "We're running out of time." She turned to Will. "We gotta go now. The League is coming for you."
"L-league?" Will blinked in confusion.
Melody groaned. There went subtlety out the window. "Look, Will. We know you have powers. You're an Elemental Sorcerer, and there are people who are coming for you."
Will stood up and began to back away slowly. "What are you talking about? Powers?"
"Now's not the time to play dumb!" Tracy hissed and Melody elbowed her.
"We know, pal." Maui said reassuringly. "It's alright."
"Don't worry, your secret's safe with us." Melody added. "But this League, the League of Sorcerers, they know who you are too, and they're coming for you."
'No…no…I-I'm useless!" Will stuttered, pushing up his spectacles which had slid down his nose again. "Sure I have powers, but I don't know how to use them!"
"What do you mean you don't know how to use them?" Melody asked, her heart sinking.
"I-I don't know how to control them! They appear randomly at times, and I can't tame them!" Clutching his head in a hand, he looked wildly at Melody. "Is it true? This League is coming for me?"
Melody nodded gravely. "I'm sorry."
The carpenter's knees grew weak and he sat down. "Why? What do they want with me?"
"Frankly, I don't know." Melody replied.
"You have to protect me." He stared up at the three Warriors, a look of desperation in his eyes. "Please."
"Don't worry, we will." Melody reassured him, and looked at her two companions.
"Well, that was unexpected." Tracy had an amused expression on her face. "What do we do now?"
"We got to get him out of here before the League comes." Melody turned to Maui. "Any warning from Anna and Kristoff?"
"Nope," Maui shook his head. "But regardless, we should get clear now."
"Too late."
The Warriors as well as Will turned their attention to one of the rooms where the deep mechanical voice had come from. A set of heavy footsteps followed by a set of lighter ones could be heard, and two figures emerged from the shadows and stood in the living room.
"No…" Melody couldn't believe her eyes. The man in the black hood, mask and black leather jacket was standing before them, armed with a bow, a quiver full of black fletchings and a scabbard on his back. And by his side was…Elsa. She was dressed in a black tank top, a dark blue double breasted trench coat, dark grey pants and boots.
"Elsa?" Maui couldn't believe his eyes too, and neither could Tracy.
The Snow Queen was silent and unflinching, looking straight ahead at her target, the last Elemental Sorcerer. Her usual purple eyeshadow now gave her an ominous appearance to match her disposition, which the Warriors were now noticing and it unsettled them terribly.
"Greetings. We meet again," Prometheus gave Maui a nod.
"What have you done to Elsa?" Melody asked through gritted teeth.
"Nothing. She's here of her own accord." Prometheus glanced at Elsa, who stood beside him. "We've come only for Will Daltrey," Prometheus pointed a gloved finger at the teenage boy, who was sweating buckets. "I hope we can end this negotiation without any bloodshed."
"There won't be any negotiation." Melody removed her Hoyt Satori recurve bow that she had slung across her shoulder, and in the same movement, expertly undid the flap on her quiver, exposing a range of green fletchings. Her eyes darting down, she studied the bow in her enemy's hand. A Martin Panther Recurve Bow. His bow was almost similar to her old Martin Saber bow, the first one that Major Kane broke, only his looked a lot sturdier and sleeker. It seemed as though it was going to come down to a standoff between her, armed with a Hoyt Satori, and Prometheus, armed with a Martin Panther. A battle between two archers.
"You're right, there won't." Elsa finally spoke up, her voice calm and lofty, precise and cold. "We're taking Daltrey with us."
"Elsa, what-" Maui stopped in mid-sentence, unable to believe that his friend and former Warrior was now working with the mercenary in black.
"What are you doing?" Tracy completed Maui's sentence. "Elsa! You ain't working with the League, are you?"
Elsa gave her a cold glance, before turning her attention back to Will.
"Hand him over to us, and we'll be on our way."
"Not a chance." Melody gripped her bow in her hand. "I don't know what happened to you, Elsa, but now's your chance to help us."
Elsa stared at her with icy blue eyes, and Melody really couldn't tell if Elsa was bluffing or if she really was working with the League. I really hope it's the former. When Elsa didn't reply, Melody spoke again.
"Will Daltrey is under our protection. If you want him, you have to go through us."
"I don't wish to fight a girl." Prometheus glanced stoically at Melody through the padded nettings of his black mask. "But I will, if I'm forced to."
"Last chance," Elsa said. "Give us Will Daltrey and we can end this peacefully."
Tracy and Maui stood side by side, blocking their adversaries' only path to the frightened boy. They looked at Melody, who stared straight ahead at Prometheus.
Melody drew an arrow from her quiver slowly and nocked it calmly.
"What are you doing?" Prometheus tightened his grip on his own bow, and reached for an arrow from his own quiver.
"What any archer wants," she raised her bow and drew it back, signalling the start of the battle for the last Elemental Sorcerer. "To see who's better." Her fingers released the draw string, and the arrow catapulted towards Prometheus. As it closed the distance, Prometheus' own arrow met hers, and her arrow was promptly split through the middle in mid-air by his.
Prometheus lowered his bow, and Melody's aqua blue eyes widened in shock. The masked mercenary looked at her unflinchingly, as if to give her a final warning not to engage him. That wasn't going to stop her. Melody ran forward to meet the man with her bow in hand and feigned a low attack with her bow, but then raised her free right fist to land a strike on his masked face. If archery wasn't going to work on him, then maybe a little hand to hand combat would. He swiped her hand away quickly before it could even reach near him, and his other palm connected with her collarbone, sending her sliding backwards. Her boots scraped across the floor as she stopped the momentum on solid footing, and glanced at the opponent before her. That…was unexpected.
TRACY
Meanwhile, Tracy eyes darted to Maui, who nodded slightly, seeming to understand what she was about to do. Ever so slowly, her eyes still on Elsa, she inched backwards towards Will. Suddenly, Elsa raised her palms and aimed them at Tracy and Will, a burst of deadly ice shards rocketing towards them. With lightning speed, Maui stepped in front of them, shielding Tracy and Will with his gigantic frame. The ice bounced off his chest like they were nothing more than ice cubes.
"Go!" Maui bellowed, and with his fish hook in hand, a brilliant flash of light flashed, and the demigod shape-shifted into a large brown serpent. Slithering swiftly on his belly, Maui snaked his way towards Elsa as she continued to fire blasts of ice at him.
Tracy seized the opening that Maui had given her, and conjured a portal of purple mist quickly with the wave of a hand.
"Wh-"
"I'll explain later," she gave Will a hard shove and the boy fell through the portal with a shout, and Tracy jumped in after him, closing the Crossing Point before Elsa or Prometheus could follow.
MELODY
Meanwhile, the two archers had taken the fight to the next room. Melody grunted as she slid on her knees with great momentum in an attempt to tackle Prometheus off his vertical base. She always went back to the well with that move, as it never failed to work. However, Prometheus saw it coming and took a great leap backwards, putting distance between himself and her. Now at a safe distance, he lashed out quickly with a kick that would have sent Melody sprawling on her side.
Thankfully, her fast reflexes saved her. Or maybe it was pure instinct. As she saw his leg approaching her face, she bent backwards swiftly and brought her hands down to the ground, and as her hands made contact with the ground and friction slowed her momentum, she used her hands to launch herself backwards. Rolling backwards a safe distance away from Prometheus, she crouched on her feet, staring up at the formidable villain.
So that didn't work. She took a moment to reassess the situation, hoping that Prometheus wouldn't take the opportunity to advance on her. She thought back to her battles with Major Kane. The man was big and strong, but she had used his large frame to her advantage. His size made him slower than her, and she had relied on her speed, agility and nimble frame to best him in combat.
However, she thought as she stared at the formidable opponent before her. Prometheus was just as fast as her, if not faster. It was true. Prometheus was tall and well built, but he was extremely quick as well, which was something Melody hadn't expected from him. And his agility shocked her too. Nevertheless, she would fight harder. She always had. This was definitely not the same as the National High School Games, but her mindset and spirit remained the same. She would find a weakness and exploit it. Melody looked up at her opponent. All she had to do was find the slightest weakness.
Launching herself off the ground, she gripped her bow tightly in hand, and brought it up in an uppercut towards Prometheus' midsection. He brought his own bow down in a parry before bringing it up with lightning speed to catch Melody on her chin with his riser. Unable to react fast enough, she took the full force of the blow and stumbled backwards a little before regaining her footing quickly.
Okay, this calls for a change in strategy. She put her bow down on one of Will's handmade tables, and Prometheus did the same. She was going to need both hands if she was going to take this man down. It was time to switch to a different style that she excelled in. Raising her guard, she relaxed her shoulders and stared straight ahead at Prometheus, who mirrored her stance calmly, as if acknowledging the change in style. Somehow, she knew she wouldn't be surprised if the mercenary would be proficient in that too. She just had to hope that she was better.
Inching closer to him, she attempted to circle round him as best as she could in the tight space. They had picked a poor spot for a fight as it was too small and cramped, not that it seemed to matter to Prometheus. She glanced at him and noticed that the scabbard still hung on his back. Thankfully, he hadn't thought to use his sword. In this cramp space, he would have been able to cut her down with ease, or maybe he was still taking it easy on her, not wanting to kill her off. As she circled him, she wondered what kind of sword a man like him would use. Major Kane had used a Falchion in his quest. Maybe Prometheus fancies a thinner blade.
Without warning, Prometheus threw a lightning quick jab that she managed to smack away at the last moment. One nanosecond too late, and that jab would have sent her reeling. It was time to use another old tactic. One that had never failed before in a fight. She had used the combination back during the Games against her final opponent, and it had been instrumental in winning her the match.
Left hook to the ribcage, and when his upper body would fold to the left in reaction to the pain which left his right side open, she would deliver a right uppercut across the jaw. As he faltered, she would give a final push kick that would send him tumbling backwards at full force. Then, with him off his vertical base, she could pummel him into submission or unconsciousness.
Melody inched closer, confident that the technique would yield some results at the very least. When she was at a close enough range, she dropped and lashed out with a vicious left hook. Prometheus faded to the side, avoiding the blow to his ribcage. Nevertheless, Melody pressed on with the next move, determined that at least one of the moves in the combination would find its mark. Right uppercut. Prometheus brought both hands down together before her right fist could reach anywhere in the vicinity of his jaw.
And the last move. She launched a push kick, although that was now futile since he was nowhere near off-balance or stunned. Prometheus brought his right leg up diagonally and her boot caught the meat of his calf, which didn't do much damage. This time, she noted, he had relied on his superior strength to counter her push kick. Then, as quickly as he had brought his right leg up to counter, he brought his right leg down back to a strong foundation. Immediately his left leg rocketed off the ground and delivered a solid roundhouse kick to her while she still had her left leg off the ground, which knocked Melody clean off her footing.
She was sent sprawling on her side, and narrowly rolled out of the way as a heavy boot slammed down inches away from her face. Getting back up was harder this time, but she wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet. Panting, Melody kept her eyes trained on Prometheus as perspiration streamed down her face and her head throbbed from the roundhouse kick she had taken. She wiped a drop of blood from her lips. This was going to be way harder than she thought.
Writer's Commentary:
This was immensely fun to write. Arriving in a completely new landscape, our Warriors are trying to find the Last Elemental Sorcerer. But who is he? What is he like? Is he a big, scary, powerful wizard who can crush them all in a single stroke? No. He's a lanky teenage boy who's a bit of a wimp.
When I was thinking of Will Daltrey's character, I wanted to write something fun. What's the use of having so many skilled sorcerers? Then it's just gonna be battle after battle, fierce and dangerous. What if one of the targets is actually pretty much useless? So instead of him helping anyone, the Warriors have to protect him instead. It'll get more fun in the next chapter to see how the Warriors keep Daltrey away from the League.
Also, this is where Melody meets her first real challenge. In the past, fighting Major Kane was the hardest thing she had to do. But now, Major Kane seems like a dream compared to fighting Prometheus. He can match her shot for shot, and blow for blow, and it does make him so much scarier, doesn't it? Melody pulled a few of her best moves on him, but it doesn't even faze him. Can he even be beaten?
