The sound of metal impacting a crystal sounded in the air, and Callan raised an eyebrow at the new challenger, a beautiful young woman with long curly blond hair and a cherubic face. She smiled at Callan, "Please back away from our gifted pupils!" She swung her spear with great force, pushing Callan back.
"This is new…" Callan smirked, " crazy strong, almost as strong as the one with long black hair."
Bartholomew could only look in shock as Marigold saved his life. She shouldn't be this strong! But… she's Maya's friend, Maya is second in command in the Wandering Blade, maybe they train together? He shook his head in confusion, and nearly had an aneurysm as Marigold beaned the scaled young man with a bag, knocking him back, then picked up Bartholomew and ran the opposite direction as an explosion rang out. "What!? What the-"
"Just calm down, we need to get out of this forest and regroup with the rest of our allies, are you injured?"
"I'm not… but… when did you get so…"
"Calm down, it's my crystal, don't you notice?" Marigold held up a topaz, so filled with energy that it was glowing. Bartholomew calmed down slightly, but was still surprised she was able to amass that much energy. He looked around, then looked at his mirror.
"Okay…" He saw that Venka, Morgan, and Katya had escaped, Seya, Manny, and Surmon had successfully pushed back Alpha, and Cecilia and Vern, who dealt with mostly normal soldiers alongside the rest of their entourage, were able to secure themselves and cut a path to the fort. "It seems like they're all relatively safe, but…" He looked into the fourth mirror, "Nya's in danger..."
Nya was exhausted, her leather armor and exposed skin was covered with various scratches, some light enough to only leave her skin looking red, and others deep enough that some blood seeped out. She was nearly spent of her stamina, enough for maybe one or two more spells before she crippled herself. She turned to look at Johnathan, he was in far worse shape, his sword was bent and useless, his shield, crumpled and crushed against his broken arm, and what was left of his armor was strewn throughout the clearing, serving only as hazards. John's breathing was accompanied by an audible, painful-sounding wheezing.
"You know…" Gamma waived her hand, and a vine began to creep up towards her, a bud formed, and eventually, from that bud formed an odd looking black fruit, she took a bite from the fruit. "You really should surrender, it's a waste of time putting yourself through all that pain." Gamma ate the fruit, and spat out a dark green pit.
"You surrender." John growled, Nya nodded in affirmation, her hand gripping her dagger even tighter. Any weapon too long proved easy for Gamma's vines to grab unto, shorter weapons provided less purchase, and greater freedom. It was why Nya was using her dagger, and John used a short sword. But even then they were at a huge disadvantage. Gamma's half-hearted attacks were overwhelming onslaughts to the two teens, and their best efforts seemed fruitless.
Dammit. John thought, he turned to Seya. "I have an idea, it might work, but I don't like it."
"Idea? That sounds fun, and exhausting." Gamma ate the rest of her fruit. "I'll let you talk about it, I'll even not eevesdrop."
Nya scowled at Gamma's words as the vines began to relax their grip, releasing the two unto the ground.
"Okay...I'm all ears, what's your plan John?" Nya began. John flinched slightly as her voice reverberated through his head, but after a few seconds he responded back.
"Okay, here's the plan…" Nya widened her eyes, then smiled. The two of them turned back towards Gamma, who looked at them with mild interest.
"You've got something?" Gamma smirked.
"A little something yes." John said as he slowly pulled out a long wooden case…
"Or do you think you can't accomplish such a simple task?" The witch looked an Yana with disdainful eyes.
"I just don't see why I have to do such a meaningless task! No one in Ceunon wants to deal with those damned elves anymore! Why should I-"
"Yana." She shut up and turned to Thane, eyes glittering as she faced his handsome visage.
"Yes my love?" She smiled in ecstasy as Thane hugged her.
"Only you can complete this task, I trust you to lead some men and stop those fools. They may have worn our colors at some point, but they were always traitors. It pains me to put you in danger, but, for all of us, for me…" Thane smiled at Yana, which caused her to gulp unconsciously.
That was why she was accompanied by 10 of the most gifted, but also most odd members of the resistance. Men and women with intense, twisted personalities. It made Yana's skin crawl to have to associate with those commoners. The entire rebellion to her was a necessary sacrifice to secure hers and Thane's eloping. Thane's father had been disgraced by her family's actions, and due to that he lacked the noble title to marry her. This rebellion's purpose was to give Thane the political power he deserved, and so that she could marry her beau. When the witch found out Yana's reasons, she laughed in her face. That was why Yana hated her, and hated the fact she was so useful to Thane. Her special concoctions, her discovery of the golden sword, she was the one to suggest that Thane accept the alliance with the Golden Horde and Scarlett Heart. Shaking her head, Yana urged her horse forward, her men following after. "It was a miracle we were able to catch them this quickly." She muttered. She and her group stopped their horses next to another group of horses.
"This must be them." One of her entourage, Molly, a fair faced farmer's daughter, said. She had hair as dark as a raven's and extremely red lips. The rebels found her in a jailcell, awaiting excecution for the murder of her village's mayor and his family. The witch took her in, and Molly became her most loyal follower, and the most powerful of the artificial mages, both of which inflamed Yana. If Molly disliked Yana like her master did, she did a good job in hiding it.
"Obviously!" Yana snapped, "Alright! Dismount and follow me! They should have begun cutting down a tree by now if we don't hurry!" The troop wordlessly ran into the forest, ignoring Yana's commands. Dumb peasants! She ran after them, tearing her cloak against the trees and undergrowth. This forest north of Ceunon, which hid the elves somewhere deep within, was a source of fear and terror, enough that she honestly didn't mind if the entire thing burned down one day. She buried those thoughts, ready to put on a smiling face if they encountered any elves. What she saw caused her to scowl in rage. The troops assigned to her had stopped in disbelief at the scene before them. The dozen or so men who had run into the forest to cut down the trees were on the floor, in a pile a way's distance was an assortment of swords, spears, and hand axes, in another pile was armor bearing Ceunon's crest and colors. Sitting, at the roots of a massive tree as thick as a fortress wall and as tall as a watchtower, a young boy with dusty brown hair, bearing streaks of white on parts of it, like an elderly person. The boy had tanned skin, deeper than most northerners but not as dark as a Surdan's. He was busy whittingling the end of a cutting axe, carving the ornate figure of a dragon head out of the handle's butt end.
"You know…" Faris said, smiling, "I always thought that the carvers that Ceunon was famous for did exceptional work. You see…" He whittled off another piece, working on fashioning spiky spines akin to a dragon's back. "I'm a bit of an artist myself, I enjoy drawing, painting, sculpting, sometimes even writing, if the mood hits me, but there's always a satisfaction in making an object through painstaking hard-" He cut out the impression of wings along the sides of the handle, stopping half way before the axe head, "-work." Seemingly satisfied, he put down the axe gently, and looked at the group. "Let me guess, these guys go out here, cut down the trees, then you guys come to stop them, and make the nobles and royalty of the Broddring kingdom look bad, while the rebels look good. You're all so stupendously stupid I can't even laugh." He smiled wider as Yana flinched. "Bingo boingo, you're working with a terrorist organization responsible for the killing of several dozens of knights and court mages. And if that wasn't bad enough you were about to frame your own kingdom and breach the elves' trust. You do remember that there's a war going on. Regardless of what happens, if a human so much as pisses near one of these trees we'll lose elven support in that war against the golden horde, which is bad. What are you even after? What's your dumbass leader after?"
"Don't you dare insult Thane!" Yana charged forward, rapier in hand, after a moment of hesitation, the other ten, except for Molly and two others, charged forward. Faris raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, they're enhancing their movements, that spell's pretty popular now isn't it?" Damien began.
"It's a little contrived at this point don't you think?" Faris replied, taking out a quarter staff and smacking the first rebel in the back of the head. "More ability, less stamina. He attacked the others charging at him, all except Yana, with his mind, and after focusing on and connecting their mind to his, he then spoke one word "skölir". They swung their weapons at them, slung spells at him, and attempted to fight against his spells. They collapsed immediately afterwards, causing Yana to back pedal and fall flat on her butt. Faris smirked imperiously at her, and she turned red, swinging her rapier at him, as she did, the 6 collapsed rebels groaned in pain. "I wouldn't keep swinging like that, they'll die."
"I don't care, you're a parasite, infesting everything you touch! So I'll finally kill you!" She swung, and this time, her blade was true, but Faris caught it with his staff. She swung at him, using her enhancing ability to its max capacity, yet he blocked each attack was with ease. "Why!?" She howled, her thrusts and swings becoming wild and haphazard.
"Because last time was a bit unfair. And I've had a… transformative experience to say the least." Faris dodged and blocked her attacks with ease, his face dripped with boredom. "I remember that you were always a mediocre student, but I never realized how actually terrible at this you are." He yawned, tripping her with the end of the staff. She sprawled onto the forest floor hard. Faris laughed as she landed. "You know, I was wondering what I was going to do, I thought I was going to be insanely vengeful and murder you. But you're honestly sad, I read you like a book, you're legitimately letting thousands of people die, and risking this entire nation, because you want a man? Why don't you just elope and run off, or do you like your political privilege more than you love him? Then again, does he love you? Your family screwed his over bad from your own reckoning."
"Shut up!" Yana roared, "He loves me! I know he does! We'll rule Ceunon together! They promised to allow us to maintain sovereignty!"
"Who?" Faris asked, looking nervous.
Yana's expression changed into one of excitement, happy she elicited fear out of the boy. "The Golden Horde! And the Scarlet Heart!" She crowed with triumph, smirking when she saw Faris flinch.
"Are you insane! They've done such evil things!" Faris backed up, nearly stumbling.
"Hahaha, scared now? You really are a child." Yana rushed forward to attack him, and was held down, finding her ankles and wrists clamped by some invisible force. "Unhand me Faris! Thane will have your head!"
Faris's terrified frown is replaced by a sardonic grin as he begins giggling. "I didn't do it." he says, mid laugh. Yana's eyes widen as 3 elves in mottled green cloaks enter the clearing, arrows trained on the other, still conscious rebels. They exchange some words in the ancient language and Faris responds back to them quickly.
"It seems you were correct human child. Du Weldenvarden thanks you." The first elf, a man with short black hair says, his eyes are a slight greym and his tunic bore a maple leaf shaped clasp that held his green cloak together.
"Do not worry, I merely wanted to keep war and strife from the elves and humans, and I have friends amongst your number I especially do not want hurt. You should know of Alanna and Dusan."
The elves looked at each other for an inscrutable amount of time, before turning back to Faris. "In that case, we truly must be thankful,"
Faris smiled kindly, "Don't thank me just yet, I have to thank you for recording the conversation and confrontation on that sound and sight storing mirror. If not for that my job of turning them in would be much harder." He paused for a bit, "Ah, you can also have the axe I carved, if you like it." He did his best to stifle laughter as one of the elves stiffly walked towards the axe with the carved handle, face inscrutable but touch gentle as she picked up the carving. Returning to business as usual, he spoke again, "About the sword in the rebel leader's hands…"
"If the weapon is truly Naegling, as you say it is, then we will send a retinue to take back the sword, if however, you retrieve it and return it, we will owe you another thanks and appeal your request to the king." The leader bowed, twisting his arm in the elvish greeting, Faris returned it in kind and they spoke their goodbyes.
"You are quite talented for one so young."
"In context of who I'm being compared to, I find that to be one of the greatest honors you could bestow on me." Faris smiled as they left, then turned to the rebels, taking out rope and tying up Yana, and the 6 others. The would be tree vandals had been taken by the elves, they had been observing the humans, in disbelief as they saw them attempt to begin to cut down the trees, Faris rushed forward, and defeated them in a surprise ambush. Afterwords, he waited for the elves to approach him, and he gave them his plan, alongside the information he knew of and suspected. The elves were somewhat skeptical, even as he gave his information in the ancient language, so he asked a few of them to stay and observe, waiting for the rebels to arrive, he was lucky that Yana's emotions led to her loose mouth. "I must say, you're much less annoying when you aren't talking." He poked her nose, causing her to stare daggers at him. He just smiled in response, hogtying her. He turned to the three who hadn't attacked him.
The woman in the middle spoke up. "Our orders were to observe the elves and answer any questions they asked of us."
"Oh?" Faris replied, "Why should I believe you?"
"You have no reason to, but I and my companions do indeed surrender to you, if this means the gallows, then we shall do so, without betraying our master's orders." She and the other two extended their hands, Faris walked over, bemused but ultimately tying their arms together and confiscating their weapons. He made them help him carry the unconscious bodies and very conscious but very silent and unmoving Yana. After strapping them to their horses, he got unto Tamera, and led them out of Du Weldenvarden…