by Tom Rogal
Vindar continued, “Probably left over from the stronghold. But why hang one out here? This is the middle of nowhere!”
Neeza stepped forward. Mainly because of the close relations his daughter had with the elves, he knew most of the clans and their armor craft. He was curious if it belonged to Prince Thamalos and his family, but based off the shield design it did not. He believed it was more Orothai, but he wasn’t too sure. As he took one more step closer, a loud, un-natural snapping sound was heard.
“Neeza, look out!”
All he felt was the power of someone tackling him to the ground followed by a loud gong of wood hitting metal. The sound of that collision sent an echo resonating throughout the entire area, causing any wildlife to scatter. As Neeza came more to his senses, he found it was Dyenarus who had taken him down. My, was she strong!
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Neeza replied, “Yes, what in the holy heavens was that?”
Haldirin and Joakon examined the large log attached to a rope. Lindaris, while they were looking up, looked down to notice some strange device. Judging by what was above ground, it appeared to go underground much deeper. When he stepped on it, it must have cut a rope that was mainly subterraneous as well. The tree behind them cleverly hid the now taut rope.
Lindaris finally commented, “It was a trap.”
Joakon revealed, “And that shield’s magic must exemplify the sound of something hitting it, which means . . .”
Haldirin finished his sentence, “They know we are here.”
In the close distance a group of loud shrieks were heard. The students were frantically trying to find the source, all of them raising their staffs to prepare for an attack.
Neeza commented, “Level your staves more. Maintain posture!”
Haldirin added, “Sir, is this really the best time to be giving a lesson?”
No, he guessed not. It was a preference of his, that he felt made mage’s magic more potent. He was right, though. This was not the time or the place to be playing teacher. Whatever was coming was surrounding them. The shrieks were echoing off the trees and carried by the wind.
Vindar said, “We should run. We stay here we’re sitting ducks.”
Lindaris added, “Where to? Sounds like we have no place to go!”
Neeza related to the point, but despite the closeness of the sounds, there was nothing coming in any direction on the ground. Unless the creatures were invisible, something that took too much effort from a mage to be worth casting, there was no sign of anyone.
It was then that it hit him. What they were looking for wasn’t coming for them on the ground, but above it. A shadow suddenly engulfed them from above. He looked, but couldn’t identify what was swooping toward them.
“Get down!”
The students didn’t ask any questions as they dropped hard toward the dry ground, barely missing the talons of the large bird-like creature. As it flew up, Neeza got a better look at their adversary. It had to be at least ten feet long with talons sharp enough to cleave a person in half. The strangest thing was its feathers, which reflected the prism as the sunlight hit it. The only bird he knew who did that was known as the Kyroselip, an indigenous bird to the land of the Wood Elves. Yet, why was it here and how did it grow to such a size? They normally only grew as large as a fist.
Biverin yelled, “Incoming!”
This was just great. A flock of seven began to fly toward them. They didn’t have much of a choice here. Vindar was right. To stay put was death.
Neeza commanded, “Run!”
The mages began heading north as the birds swooped down. He knew it was going to take a little more than running to discourage these birds, usually tenacious by nature if disturbed. Haldirin seemed to agree.
He turned around and yelled, “Triolong Firamma!”
A white fireball split into three ejected from his hand swooping low to the ground before hitting the lead Kyroselip in the belly. It disoriented it enough to cause it to fly toward the air again. One down, but six still to go.
Gerran, as he was running between two logs, telekinetically picked them both up and waited until one of the birds was in position. He tried to smash one between them, but barely missed. Man, were they fast! Luckily, the way the logs ricocheted off each other hit two of the trailing birds, taking at least one of them out of commission. Seeing the older members of their band fighting, Vindar and Joakon tried to fire volleys of spells, but none of them hit their marks.
They were going to need to get rid of those birds and fast. The longer they were chased, the easier it would be for whoever was living on the island to find them. They certainly weren’t the creatures that placed those heads on that metal.
Neeza turned around, stuck his staff in the ground, quickly chanting, “Iczera Temmponi!”
A wall of ice instantly grew in front of him. He grabbed his staff and turned as the Kyroselip crashed into the ice, knocking itself unconscious. The shards of ice blasted forward because of the impact, hitting Neeza and some of the students so hard it caused some of them to stumble. One bird made an attempt to snatch Vindar and Condarin, but a change in elevation was their salvation as they dropped down a small alcove.
Lindaris was sprinting as hard as he could. For all that he learned, casting magic on the run was not something he was particularly good at as his accuracy was way off. If he could get ahead of the group, he could at least get a couple shots off before he had to start running again. When he got enough distance, he chanted a couple times in succession, “Firammii morza!”
One of his fireballs hit the Kyroselip head on. It didn’t see the spell as it was trying to reach out for Gerran, igniting the bird’s normally beautiful feathers and forcing it to crash to the ground. The second one was different, squawking at the others more than actually trying to catch them. That bird had to be the leader. Neeza shot one more fireball that missed before he started running again.
Neeza wasn’t sure how much longer they would be able to keep it up. His older legs were tiring fast, and he could sense the panic in the others. If it wasn’t for Haldirin supporting him, he may have fallen a while ago on this sprint.
One of the birds closed in on Dyenarus as she began to sprint harder. Despite that, the bird got closer as its jaws surrounded her. When the Kyroselip closed them, it was surprised to see that it had attacked nothing. A few feet to the right, Dyenarus was bringing her hand down as the copy of herself was negated by the bird. She once again ran toward the group.
The Kyroselips began trying different swooping patterns with the remaining birds. They were trying to hit them from the sides and once from up front. The leader continued to fly swiftly, squawking out orders. As Neeza looked back, he noticed a very strange physical disability on the lead bird as well as the others. They had no eyes. Where the eyes should have been was a crusty-looking material covering them. The squawking was beginning to fill the forest around them.
Before Neeza could try and determine what to do next, him and the other students were airborne, albeit for a short while. The grass and the woods blended together, disguising the alcove in front of them. They all rolled down very hard as the world was spinning from their point of view. They could have been easy pickings for the birds, but they did not come. The alcove must have fooled them, too. Not enough apparently as he could still hear them overhead.
After what seemed forever, Neeza was the last to stop rolling. His body hadn’t ached so much in years. He must have hit a few rocks on the way down as his arm and left thigh hurt a lot. Since everyone was moving, he was thankful that no one broke their necks from the fall or the roll. Many, though, were clearly feeling the effects from it.
Lindaris commented, “Well, that’s one way to lose them.”
The squawks were getting louder again. Neeza knew they were in no condition to run again at the same pace after the tumble they took. They were going to have to stand their ground and take on the menace. At least, they only had to deal with four
to five instead of the original eight.
“Get together! Be ready to unleash the most powerful spells you know!”
From above, the five remaining Kyroselips began to circle around them like buzzards. The lead one landed on a strong branch, supervising the progress of the others. It began shrieking at them, forcing them to cover their ears. The rest of the birds were nearing the ground.
Vindar finally separated from the group, digging his staff into the ground, “Enough of this! Galiareni Lucenif Hempata!”
Out of the jewel of his staff a white light hovered thirty feet in the air, where it exploded into a blinding light. Neeza wasn’t sure what good that would do since none of the birds had eyes, but then he remembered the spell had a secondary effect. It just might do the trick. He covered his ears as the students followed his lead.
A loud shriek preceded the bright light, even overpowering that of the mutated Kyroselips. The four hovering ones instantly dispersed. The leader tried to intimidate the spell’s effect, but even it couldn’t withstand the spells potency. The birds flew high in the sky as the spell fizzled out to nothing. Neeza uncovered his ears and stood up to see that they were all alone again.
Vindar gave a celebratory clap of the hands, “Woohoo! Always wanted to try that spell in a real life situation!”
Condarin ran up to him and gave him a half hug, “You did well!”
Neeza commented, “That was a well-thought spell for the situation. Even with the enemy having no eyes, you were still able to scare them off with the sound. Excellent work.”
As Neeza went to Biverin, Vindar looked confusedly over to Condarin, “They didn’t have eyes?”
Neeza was joined by Joakon as they helped the farmer mage up gingerly. It appeared they didn’t all come up from the fall in one piece. A small sharp piece of wood was jutting out of his side. Thankfully it didn’t seem to hit any vital organs-he hoped. The way he moved certainly suggested otherwise.
“Are you all right?”
Biverin commented, “Yeah, but I’d feel better if you took this wood out of me. I’d be much obliged.”
He waited until he got the okay from Haldirin, who was the closest thing they had to a certified doctor. He gave a nod and Joakon pulled the piece out carefully. He gave a sharp cry of pain as the other students first realized one of their own was hurt.
After the initial pain softened slightly, Biverin eased his breathing and said, “There, much better. Remind me to never to do that again.”
He tried to get up, but Neeza stopped him, “Wait. Let me heal your wounds.”
Biverin nodded, allowing Neeza to cast his curing magic. The spells would mend the muscles and flesh, but if it pierced any of the vitals, which to a mage were the lungs, liver, heart and brain, it would slowly kill the mage unless it was replaced. Without having a real doctor here, there was no way he could tell if any had been punctured. Even if they could identify, they had no tools to perform the procedure, nor anything to replace it with. Only time would tell.
After the purplish light of the spell finally diminished, with exception of the blood and hole on Biverin’s robe, one would have never known that a wound had existed there. He finally stood up with Haldirin and Joakon’s assistance. All the students, even Lindaris, showed their concern for Biverin. He found it amazing how moments such as life threatening wounds could bring even people that didn’t get along too well together. He knew that Lindaris didn’t care for the mage farmer, and likewise for Biverin. But it warmed his heart to see them put their differences aside to work as one. That's what it meant to be a mage.
Neeza finally said, “Okay, everyone. We should get moving again. I’d like to reach the coast before nightfall.”
Gerran commented, “Please don’t mention fall.”
The other students chuckled as they all began to follow Neeza. Lindaris began to move forward, when he noticed Dyenarus had left a backpack. From what he knew about her, she normally didn’t forget much of anything. He ran back and picked it up. Perhaps she left it on purpose. He never really thought about going out with her before now, but after seeing how happy Vindar and Condarin seemed to be, maybe she was trying to tell him something. Why wouldn’t a beautiful woman like Dyenarus want to go out with a guy like him? He grabbed the bag and quickly ran back to return her possessions with hope of reward at the end.
The group began to walk through a column of trees all planted in a row. These were intentionally grown like this, but why? Condarin, as well as the others, were using their staves to maintain their balance as they were all still a little shaky after the fall. A close eye would be kept on Biverin to be sure no further injury had occurred. Gerran led the way as he had been working hard on figuring out the way to the sea.
Gerran reported as he talked loud, “My, how very interesting! Notice the trees! This must have been some sort of walkway back when this belonged to the elves. This probably led to a town or a fort. And judging by the width of this, they must have been moving large objects. If we follow this, it should lead us to the sea.”
Vindar added, “As long as we are as far away from those birds as possible.”
“I wouldn’t worry about them anymore. They know what we are capable of. Kyroselips are smart creatures. Should be smooth sailing from here,” added Gerran.
Lindaris was nearly caught up with the group when it happened. It was almost as if the ground had absorbed them, then lifted them to the treetops. Lindaris was driven back, hitting the old path hard and knocking the wind out of him. Everyone was confused as they swung from the net. Damn it! How could they have grown so complacent to not see this trap? There was great panic from the students as they were trying to figure out what just happened.
Neeza yelled, “Students! Settle down and be calm. Is everyone okay?”
Dyenarus replied, “I’m fine. Vindar?”
Vindar answered, “Within reason. Joakon?”
Joakon said, “Other than not liking heights, I’m good. Gerran?”
Gerran replied, “My pride is hurt by not seeing this, but okay. Condarin?”
Condarin answered, “Other than my only view is someone's butt, okay. Biverin?”
Biverin caught his breathe and answered, “All good. Much better than falling I suppose. Lindaris?”
“Down here!”
As many that could, turned their heads down to see Lindaris still standing on the ground. Neeza breathed a sigh of relief. At least not everyone was captured in his thing. That meant they still had a chance to escape. As fortunes smiled on them, the one that wasn’t caught was their Black magic student.
Neeza yelled, “Lindaris! I need you to hit the point of the rope that is holding us up. It might be by the branch of the tree. A couple of fireballs should do it!”
Lindaris looked up trying to find the base. With the traps sprung, there were so many ropes and wires pulled taut. After a while, he finally found it.
“Okay, found it! Gerran, you ready with your telekinetics so you guys don’t hit the ground?”
Gerran replied, “Yeah. Just do it!”
Lindaris focused on the base of the net and chanted, “Firammii morza!”
The fireball’s aim was straight and true. As soon as it hit the rope, the spell deflected off toward the treetops. That was strange. How did that happen? Lindaris brought his hands back. Maybe he needed a little stronger spell.
“Firammii piranrza!”
A slightly larger, but hotter fireball went toward the same spot as the first. Just like the previous fire spell, the results were the same. He didn’t understand what was happening.
“Lindaris! Is everything okay?” asked Neeza.
“I don’t know! My spells are just deflecting off into the sky the moment it hits the rope!”
Joakon asked, “What kind of rope does that?”
Haldirin answered, “A rope with a magical deflection ability. Only one race I know had this: The elves. Which means this is elvish black rope. Good luck trying to cut through it with
a normal knife.”
Great. Just what they needed. His messenger was quite right. The elves were the only race to ever develop magic-resistant items, and the net was certainly one of them. He thought he felt a magical property when the net went up. But these items were rare even now because the components they required were native to the Barbatan homeland, which now belonged to the Ettui and Eratuu. Plus, if they wanted to cut through any elvish rope, they’d need at least an elvish knife, which they didn’t have.
“It’s all right. There is always another way. We must think, however. Lindaris, do you see any other way to get us down?”
The young mage searched all around, but he could see nothing that would help them. The ropes were all made of the same material as the net. Casting on the trees wouldn’t help either as they were thick and would take hours for him to burn through the sturdy limbs.
Lindaris’ concentration was interrupted, though. What was that noise? As he looked forward his eyes grew. By the gods! He was getting out of there. He instantly started to run the other way.
Dyenarus was the first to notice his action, “Lindaris! Get back here! Neeza, I think he’s deserting us!”
Although he wasn’t surprised that it might happen, he was just as equally disappointed. So much potential, so little heart. As Neeza began to think, the students facing the north froze. Joakon began to tap on his shoulder rapidly, but not hard. Now was not the time for random attention. He had to think of something to get them out of the situation.
Neeza reprimanded, “Not now, I’m trying to figure out our options.”
Despite his clear answer, Joakon continued to tap him, harder. Now Neeza was getting annoyed. He was usually much slower to anger than that, but they were in some real trouble, and he needed to think. Neeza began shifting around.
“What is so important that you must interrupt me at such an . . .”
He couldn’t even get the next word out. Staring at them through what looked like a cracked yellowish helmet was a large bipedal creature. The eyes . . . again there were no eyes. The helmet covered its face completely, only allowing one to see the nose and mouth. Gnarled hair overspread from its head down to its shoulders. It had to be at least thirty feet tall and was very muscular. Across its chest it had cracked armor much like the helmet, but it looked small on it as if it had outgrown the wears. It had a grass skirt covering the upper parts of its legs.