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And on her lover's arm she leant,
And round her waist she felt it fold,
And far across the hills they went
In that new world which is the old.
~Alfred Tennyson
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Chapter 5: Not Defenseless
The next morning arrived after a terrible, awful dinner of chewy jerky and hard biscuits, a restless night's sleep, and an interrogation of Evvy and Pasco about what they did the night before.
Evvy and Pasco didn't find it amusing.
Nevertheless, the group found themselves, a few hours later, riding tiredly in a evergreen forest miles away from their camp out site. Briar's horse fiddled restlessly, and Briar wanted nothing more than to curse at the stupid thing. He refrained however, mostly because Evvy was already peeved at him.
Dasnie led the group, her long white hair blowing in the breeze that blew throughout the forest. She remained silent, her face emotionless and steady. On top her her horse, she looked like a rock statue that never moved and never switched positions. Once, she cleared her throat. It scared Briar and Daja so much that they jumped in their horses. Seeing their over-reaction, both of them exchanged nervous smiles.
They rode a while before Tris twisted her neck, making it pop in some places before sighing. Taking off her glasses and then rubbing her eyes, she remarked, "I've had the worst headache ever since I crossed the Syth into Madab. Must be my stupid allergies."
Briar glanced at her in surprise. She didn't glance back. Something churned oddly in Briar's stomach. Madab was starting to get creepier and creepier to him. First, Balaj and this odd draining sensation. Now, Tris' headache. Not to mention Dasnie's idiosyncrasies.
However, Sandry was much more perky that day, even if the sadness never really left her eyes, and she even humored Pasco by laughing at a few of his jokes. Briar thought that the jokes were meant for both Sandry and his young student. Raising a almost-paternal eyebrow, Briar glared back at the young Pasco. He then glanced at Evvy, who was still laughing at one of Pasco's jokes. Slowing his horse, he was about to give Sandry's young mage a warning about keeping his hormonal hands off his student, but instead he was interrupted.
"Stop," Dasnie suddenly said, her voice steady and clear. Her horse stopped, and her eyes glanced around their surroundings dartingly. Her hand was rested on the hilt of her sword that was strapped to the belt encircling her waist.
Everyone stopped dead in their tracks, and a wave of anxiousness ran through them all. A twig snapped in the forest.
"What was that?" Sandry whispered, her voice hinged with apprehension. Dasnie instantly silenced her with a wave of her hand.
And then a piercing scream echoed through the forest. Breaking through a large brush of small evergreen trees, a hoard of men started to run towards them, their voices roaring throughout the forest. Instantly, Briar remembered the knives that he kept at his wrists, and immediately told the plants the kept them tied to his wrists to come undone. Grasping his knives, Briar faced the intruders, his eyes dilated with adrenaline.
Dasnie had drawn her sword also, her shoulders square and her mouth drawn in a tight line. She sat on her horse silently, but her eyes never were drawn from the fast approaching men.
Daja had her staff out instantaneously, ready for anything.
Tris had murder lit in her eyes. A storm was already brewing above their heads.
When Briar glanced at Sandry, it looked like she had nothing the defend herself. However, as she eyed the intruders, she quietly reached inside her bag and grabbed something like a large metal ball. Eyeing it quickly, Briar suddenly smiled slyly. It was metal casket that, upon impact, set a paralyzing spell over anyone who was within six or seven feet of it. Taking his eyes off Sandry, he looked back at Pasco and Evvy. Both of their eyes were wide and their lips were drawn tightly together in fear. Motioning them back with his head, Briar was content when they backed away a good hundred feet.
All them looked at the fastly approaching men, they all mind-spoke for the first time in the trip. They all said: I'm ready
As they came closer, it was easier to see the group of vagabonds. The men looked ragged, and most didn't have a sword, but instead possessed small daggers like Briar. Their faces were scrunched together and scarred. They could have been a pack of robbers, but most robbers didn't have a battle cry. Most robbers would stay silent, before silently attacking.
As strange as the men were, Briar couldn't care if they dancing elves. The men were attacking him, and Briar was experienced at attacking back. Biting his lip, he counted with his head the seconds before the men reached them. Five. . . four. . . three. . . two. . .
The first man that attempted to attack Briar was a younger man, about in his early thirties. A large scar protruded from his face and it ran from the top of his forehead to the bottom of his eyelid. He had a small dagger in his hand, but it was rusty and looked extremely old. Briar, quickly taking observation of this weakness, rode his horse up to the man before both of their daggers connected. Like he had hoped, the man's rusty sword broke in two. He glanced at his broken dagger in surprise, before glancing up at Briar in fear. Briar smiled evilly at him before he landed a hard kick in the man's stomach, sending the man back and making hard contact with an evergreen tree. Calling the branches down, Briar told the tree to wrap its branches tightly around the man's wrists. The man lay in an unconscious, tied-up pile.
Everyone was having their own battles with separate men. Dasnie had, for some strange reason, put her sword back, and instead, was using a long, broken tree limb to fend off intruders. Briar caught quick sight of her as she blocked a blow from a large, heavy-set man, before knocking him hard in the stomach. The man doubled over, before receiving another blow to the head. He fell to the ground, maybe unconscious or maybe dead. Daja was doing somewhat of the same thing, except she was enjoying herself immensely by melting the metal off the any man's sword before knocking them unconscious.
Briar blocked another man, before hitting his square in the nose. The man melted to the ground, his nose bloody.
It was then that he caught sight of Tris, who was being attacked by a fast-approaching man. She glared at him coldly, and the man ran towards her, screaming like a madman. When he was about five feet away from her horse, a stream of lightening glided down from the sky and struck him. The man stood shocked for a few seconds, before crumpling in a seared heap. Briar saw Tris grin, before she faced another man.
Hearing another man running towards him, Briar turned around. However, as he faced the man, a sudden flash of light streamed across his vision. A sudden yelping of men occured, and Briar's horse threw a panic. Rearing back, the horse sent Briar falling quickly off the saddle and unto the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs.
Stunned, Briar lay on the ground for a few, brief seconds before looking up. Ahead of him, there was a crowd of four men that stood paralyzed in their tracks. Sandry had most likely used her spelled ball to freeze them, and it must have made a large flash before it paralyzed it's victims. Immediately after the flash, Dasnie and Daja set to work, knocking the men every which way with their staffs. The man that was about to attack Briar looked around his settings in shock before glaring back at Briar. Screaming, he made a beeline towards him.
Suddenly aware of his situation, Briar looked for his wrist knives. They were nowhere to be seen. Most likely, they had been thrown far when he fell off his horse.
Gods, he hated that dumb horse.
Frantic, Briar tried to stumble to his feet, but knew it was be little use. The man was much too close and coming much to fast. And then, when Briar had braced himself for pain, the man's trousers suddenly fell off his waist and hit his ankles. Surprised, the man still ran and started to trip over his undone pants. Briar looked at the man in the same surprise that the man himself had on his face. Then, with lighting speed, a fist made hard contact with the man's face. Spinning uncontrollably, the man tripped over a tree root, hit his head on a rock and then was still.
Gaping, Briar glanced up at the person who had just saved his neck. And to his utmost surprise, it was Sandry who was smiling back at him. Smugly.
Smiling slightly in shock, Briar shook his head. "You've just got the most uncanny timing," He remarked, before dusting his hands off.
Sandry rolled her eyes before saying, "And you've got the most remarkable luck."
"I think my horse begs to differ," Briar clipped, before glaring at his horse, who's eyes were dilated in complete fear. Frowning at it, he grabbed the reigns, and then looking over his shoulder at Sandry. "Have I ever mentioned that I. . ."
"Hate horses?" Sandry finished his sentence, smiling. Shaking her head, she chuckled. "No, you've never mentioned it before."
Briar squinted his eyes at her.
Evvy, on the other side of the forest, wasn't having quite as much luck. Two men had approached her and Pasco earlier on, and were now trying to take them off their saddles. Pasco was tying in vain to kick the man, but to little avail.
Tugging back her arm, Evvy tried to escape the man's grasp. Scrunching her lips together, she muttered through clenched teeth, "Let. Me. Go!"
The man only growled at her.
Suddenly a large rock laying underneath a large tree caught her attention. Still trying to pull away, Evvy concentrated on it. Although it was cracked and not of very good quality, Evvy decided that it would have to do for now. Calling it into the air, the rock hung in the air before gliding near her. Evvy bit her lip before telling the rock to come to her free, out-stretched hand as fast it could go.
And it came. . . but not before knocking her capturor in the back of the head. The man opened his eyes wide before he toppled down. Smiling, Evvy caught the rock in her hand with ease before turning around and throwing her rock at Pasco's attacker. The man also fell down to the ground.
Pasco looked up at her with shock, and she smiled imperiously at him. Running a hand through her long, dark hair, she murmured, "I love me."
Dasnie and Daja had managed to corner the last two conscious or alive men against a grove of evergreen trees. The men stared at the two woman in fear before kneeling on the ground and begging. "Don't kill us!" They cried, their voices trembling, "Don't kill us! We were sent to do this. . . please, oh please!"
Daja glared at them. "Who sent you here?"
A chuckled suddenly permeated throughout the forest, echoing off the large trees. Everyone glanced up to look around them, scanning the forest suspiciously. The chuckle continued before it started to come closer.
Briar had managed to grab his wrist knives in the mean time, and he grasped them so tight that his knuckles were turning white. Squinting into the forest, he saw three figures riding on horses coming closer to them. The one in the center of the group, although barely visible, looked taller than the other two. And he was the one who was chuckling. Suspicious, Briar inched closer to Sandry, who was shifting uneasily from one foot to another.
When the trio finally came into view, Briar saw Dasnie put down her large tree limb. Coming forward, she nodded slightly at the man.
The tall man, who was still chuckling deep in his throat, glanced down at Dasnie. His smile instantly increased. "Well, well, well," his voice flowed pleasantly, but hinged with a Madabian accent, "it looks like you have not lost your edge, Princess Dasniel."
Briar looked up in shock at Dasnie, who was eyeing the tall man stoically. Blinking at him, she answered the man. "I would suppose that this is of your work, Duke Eraged?" She then waved a hand over the landscape of unconscious men.
Confused beyond reason, Briar glanced from Dasnie to the tall man. Princess Dasniel? Duke Eraged? The man they were supposed to meet? Sucking in some air, he voiced his confusion, "What the hell is going on here?"
The tall man glanced at him. Although he was no doubtedly a Madabian, his hair was very similar to Dasnie, except his had a small hint of blonde. His eyes were a piercing brown, but were somewhat covered by his long, light-blondish bangs. The man riding next to him looked very similar, except for the fact that he was much younger, had wavier hair, and his eyes weren't piercing. Instead, they peered down at Briar with a soft curiosity.
The tall man shifted his his saddle before speaking to Briar, "And you must be the young Plant Mage that I hear so much about: Briar Moss." The man chuckled, "you certainly do live up to your reputation, I might say."
Briar was about to ask what the man meant, but the man spoke first, "And here is Daja Kisubo and Trisana Chandler. What a pleasant surprise!"
"The pleasure is all mine," Tris bit in tartly, her eyes cold. The man ignored her before turning to Sandry.
Smiling broadly, the man rode up to Sandry, who was eyeing his suspiciously, "And Empress Sandrilene. . . how wonderful to finally meet you." He took her hand then and kissed it, but only with Sandry's reluctance. Shaking his head, he suddenly frowned. "I'm so sorry to here about the tragic end your husband came to. Most terrible, I must say."
Sandry blinked at him, before stammering, "How. . . how do you know . . .?"
"All in good time my dear. All in good time." The man interrupted her before riding over to the younger man, and another person, who look like a female. "For now, we must leave this place. Follow me now. We should get to Quetat Veyla very soon if we hurry." He then turned to the female before commanding, "Vangea, please find somewhere to dispose of these men. I have no need for them now." He waved an authoritative hand and the woman complied, beginning with the two remaining men who were shaking in fear. With that, the man turned into the forest and started to ride, but the younger man staying behind.
Everyone remained quiet for few seconds, before Dasnie cleared her throat in hesitation. The young man suddenly looked down at her, before smiling at her pleasantly. "Nice work that you did to those men, Dasniel," He teased slightly, his smile crooked. His horse shifted before it faced Dasnie.
She glanced up at the young man, before she spoke. "I was expecting it. . . . it is like Duke Eragad." Her voice hinted at some kind of recognition of the young man, and it finally sounded somewhat informal. Even if it was slightly emotionless.
The young man shook his head before stating, "Yes, I suppose so." He then turned to the confused group of Daja, Tris, Briar, Sandry, Pasco, and Evvy. "I'd like to say I'm not related, but, unfortunately, he's my Father," he nodded his head towards the forest, where the tall man was riding. Shaking his head in silent displeasure. Biting his lip, he looked back up at them and introduced, " By the way, my name's Jadof ta Untea, and it looks like your the group we had expected yesterday."
Shaking her head, Dasnie slowly made her way to her horse. "Yes, I'm afraid we are. We had. . . some slight delays." She never glanced at Sandry, but instead mounted her horse.
"Slightly making you late?"
Dasnie glanced up at Jadof and nodded her head. "I suppose so, Jadof."
Briar, who was watching this exchange in confusion, blinked. Dasnie never used name's so informally unless told too. Suddenly feeling at ease with the younger man, Briar knew one thing. . . if Dasnie trusted him, he did too.
Riding her horse next to Jadof's, she waved at her companions. "You realize that we had little choice. We must go."
Everyone stared at her for a few seconds before they slowly made their way to their horses.
Briar's horse danced as soon as he got on, but he ignored it. No need in killing the horse, even though he wanted to. Very badly.
Jadof and Dasnie started to follow the tall man into the forest, and everyone followed them hesitantly.
The last words that were mentioned in the trip was Jadof saying, "I've got some jokes I think you'll need to hear when we get to Quetat Veyla, Dasniel."
Dansie simply stared blankly at him before she made a noise that sounded like a sigh.
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Lalalala. . .its a short chapter, I know. The next chapter will be longer, much longer. Anywho, thanks for the reviews people! BTW, I still need fanfiction for the website. Right now it located at www.geocities.com/emelan6/discipline.html , but it needs more content. Pwease people, send me anything that has to do with Circle of Magic. . . I'm begging ya. (I'll personally ask some people. . . Blue Wynd Faerie, Swim Freak, can I use yours?)
One more thing. . . Dasnie and Jadof are based on two characters
from another book series. They are bit different, but er, pretty much the
same. I didn't realize I was incorporating them into this story until
I reread it. So, if they sound familiar, that's the reason. Well,
see ya around next chapter people!