Chapter 3- Battle in Kirchein
By the time the trio had arrived in Kirchein, battle was already raging within. The shouts of the people fighting as best they could, the sounds of spells being activated, and explosions flying outward as they clashed. The signs of battle also showed themselves in the destruction the battle had created. Some buildings had been turned to rubble, while others were in the midst of burning, sending smoke into the sky. It didn't take long for them to make their way into the walls.
In the corner of their eyes, the combat between the city's guard, and the invading force were made clear, spells flying as quickly as they could see. The combat was intense, no doubt, and they were running into the thick of it. But they didn't exactly have a plan. After all, they hunted beasts and fought off the occasional mage who got too big for their britches, this was something else entirely.
"This is looking bad, what do we do?" Andebert questioned.
"Get in there and do what we can!" Jormond responded. Their mettle was soon to be tested by what came next, three different mages rushing toward them. The gray clothing, as well as the symbol on their grimoire told the three that they were clearly not from here. The three glanced at each other, and nodded, Jormond leaped forth, as the pages of his grimoire began to turn. The very same happened with one of the others, who sent high pressure-water towards all three, forcing them to begin avoiding the attempted attacks. But he was not the only one. A second came in, launching a maelstrom of thorns forth, once more, forcing them to change maneuvers. Small cuts appeared across their body as the sharpened plant matter tore through.
It was at this point that Jormond decided the onslaught needed to be ended. To that end, he set the water mage as his target."Beast Magic: Tequn Blades!" A swipe cleaved through the one in the center of the formation, taking him out of the battle. But Jormond would soon have to contend with the other two, who rushed to avenge their fallen comrade.
"Bastard! Earth Magic: Comet Rain!" A womanly voice yelled angrily. The words were followed by spheres of hard earth, much larger than their caster, appearing above Jormond's head, and beginning to fall toward him. Which would inevitably do damage if they landed, thankfully, Wilhelmine's quick action saved the man. As spheres of Spatial Magic appeared in their path, making them disappear almost instantly, leaving the caster to look on in surprise. What manner of magic was this? Regardless, she would have to keep on moving.
"Athanasi!"
"Right!" The second of the three, Athanasi, opened his grimoire, with a blade constructed of hardened plant matter forming in his hand. A swift flourish began to come Jormond's way, and the hunter was shortly forced to swipe the blades attached to his wrists in his defense. Their weapons continually clashed between them as they did so. But there was a difference, this time around, Jormond found himself being pushed to the edge, the mage was skilled, especially with the blade, it seemed. And there was still the issue of the second closing in from behind, certainly ready to attack him.
But Andebert would not allow this. He swiftly came to the man's defense. His grimoire flew from his side, as he shouted out.
"Magma Magic: Searing Ray!" A hot ray of magma pierced through her chest, making her fall to the ground. With the final member of the squad seemingly only further enraged by this development. Raising his blade above his head and swiping downward, forcing jormond to stop the heavy attack with both arms. Willhelmine would come to his defense, taking advantage of the man's distraction. Rending through his body with a sphere of spatial magic…
The three had won their battle, but they were certainly exhausted. If not only physically, then from something else… Though it was in the heat at the moment, and they didn't know what would've taken place if they hadn't, there was a certain fact that remained.
"We… Just killed those people." Andebert lowly stated. They may have killed living beings before, but there was no small difference between killing a beast and another human. As far as they knew, these people could have family, friends, waiting for them to return. It seemed as if the vigor that they came here with was beginning to wane… But, this much couldn't have been at a worse time, given the downright oppressive magical energy that was approaching them. But unlike before, where they at least had a chance to fight back, this time, all three found themselves unconscious within moments, knocked off their feet by a rapidly approaching stream of light, which not only damaged them, but ripped apart the buildings around them, and the street directly underneath. The source of which was a well-dressed man, surrounded by a contingent of troops.
"These are the three we heard about. What shall we do with them, Colonel?" The man began a slow stride forward, as to get a better view of the scene. Three dead troops, and three unconscious inhabitants, who were seemingly exhausted by the battle with them. They could have some use as hostages, along with those already captured. He could force the city's lord to surrender, if he was smart enough to do so.
"They are of no consequence… Bound them like the rest." Zakharov ordered. He began walking once more, leaving the troops to act upon his orders. The three were thrown over their shoulders as if they were sacks of potatoes, and carried off in short order
…
The battle didn't seem to be going well, this was something that was recognized by both Kirchein's defenders, and the local lord. The aforementioned man sat within Kirchein's keep, a castle with tall stone-brick walls, forged by earth mages. Further within, was the throne room, a somewhat ornate affair, but nowhere near as much as a larger clan. Emmerich Van Dreherg. His family was a relatively minor one, their domain being Kirchein and the small villages and hamlets which surrounded was much younger than your average lord, taking his late father's place at the tender age of 16, but he was competent nonetheless. The city's various lower officials, as well as the commander of the guard force stood in front of the throne, just below the stairwell that led, up to it… For some time, the room was silent, only broken, when the man himself decided to speak.
"So it seems that we're faced with quite the issue… The question is how we'll handle it… The Alliance army is vast, and the forces we have here are simply not enough… At the least, not in a conventional battle" Emmerich's advisor, a young green-haired woman known as Gisberta stepped forth to offer her own advice.
"If I may, would it be possible to inform the capital of this development, and have reinforcements come?" Gisberta questioned. This much was met by a head shake by the Guard's captain, Gilbert.
"By the time reinforcements get here, our city may have already fallen. And aside from that, we don't know if they'll have forces to spare. There's always the possibility they've attacked other cities too…"
"That is a fact indeed..." The young lord mumbled. It seemed as if they would need to think their way out of this. After all, who knew what awaited them if they lost…