The constable looked back and shook his head. “Really? I know what you have in your leather satchel, so forgive me if I do not believe you.”
Sytravious did not reply as Elric disappeared into the darkness, knowing his old friend could not fathom the situation. He spun around and tore the wrapping off Griever. The campfire reflected off its pristine dragonite steel. He vowed right there never to hide his true nature ever again, embracing his fate as his mother’s son. Hellios and Nysight watched him with sympathy, but Sytravious did not want their condolences.
“You know, your mother walked out on me quite a few times. I thought it was the end of the world. I really did, but she always came back. Son, the point is that sometimes women get infuriated and need space. Their anger is so convincing, you will truly believe they are gone for good, but if she loves you, she will not go far.”
“I bet we will find her in Springdale come morning,” Hellios added. “There is a popular inn there - Crossings.”
Sytravious glared at them. He did not want to talk about Raiven’s departure, but deep down inside he hoped they were right. Perhaps they could pass through that inn when the gates opened at dawn. If she was there, she might have calmed down and changed her mind. He was trying to be careful about building up false hopes, but at least there would be something to keep him going.
“Yeah, maybe so,” he said, “I will get some rest then. Wake me at dawn.”
Sytravious laid down and stared into the fire, trying to rest, but all he could think of was how it was only the night before that he had fallen asleep with Raiven in his arms. His thoughts drifted back to their time at the pond. He remembered the feel of her skin, the floral scent of her body, and the passion in her honey-colored eyes. He made sure nobody was watching him, before he pulled out his parchment and wrote three simple words.
“I am sorry.”
He drifted off to sleep, waiting for the reply that never came.
Sytravious bolted up at the sound of his stepfather’s stern voice. “Wake up!”
The sun had just begun to rise on the horizon. He felt like he had not slept at all. Nysight was smothering the fire with dirt, while Hellios surveyed they valley below. Sytravious grabbed Griever as he tried to get his wits about him.
“He must have brought the whole damned southern brigades with him,” Hellios said.
Sytravious rushed next to the legionnaire to see what he was talking about. A perfect formation held up thousands of torches that lit up the landscape. Each battalion of soldiers marched with raised banners of Havencrest and Springdale. He estimated there had to be at least 10,000 soldiers advancing on their position. From vantage point, he could tell they were less than three miles away. Sytravious gritted his teeth in rage at the sight of Kenshiro leading the army.
“Looks like he was serious about chasing us down, huh?” Hellios asked him.
Sytravious knew Kenshiro wanted to track them down, he just never believed he would gather such a force in time to catch up to them, and then he thought about the possibility of Raiven being in Springdale. Could she have seen the army on her way there? Maybe she hid and is waiting for him.
“Maybe they will pass us by. If we remain hidden we can slip behind the formation,” Sytravious said.
“Not likely. They are making a straight line right for our camp. They know we are here. The constable could have told them where to find us,” Nysight replied.
The idea of Kenshiro finding Raiven sickened Sytravious to his stomach, but he fought the idea and clung to the hope that she had managed to avoid being caught. He had to think of a way to catch up to her and make sure she was safe. He offered another idea, “Can we get out of here, and get around them before they get here?”
“That is doubtful since their formation is wide. If we get spotted that far out in the open, we will be sitting ducks in the valley. I am afraid we have been cut off from Springdale and our only option is to go up into the mountain,” Nysight said.
Sytravious did not want to give up on his plan to find Raiven, but for now, he had to trust Bryce would look out for her as he always had.
“Perhaps I should go down there and tell them the priestess has gone home, and that they could all be home in time for supper.” Hellios laughed to himself.
Nysight raised an eyebrow and squinted. Sytravious recognized that look, and knew his stepfather was concocting a plan. “You joke, but perhaps that is the key to buying more time. If they believe she is still with us, they will not rush to attack.”
It was a decent strategy for now, but it would only provide them with a temporary reprieve. They needed a long-term escape plan once they evaded the current threat. “What is the plan once we are cornered up on the mountain?” he asked his stepfather.
Nysight stared up at the mountain. “Hellios and I will search for a passage that can take us through while you hold off anyone who advances upon the mountain’s pathway. It is only wide enough for two men climb at a time, which will slow them down a great deal. Sytravious do not hold back. Use the black flame because there is no point in hiding anymore,” his stepfather told him.
Sytravious glanced at the valley again, noticing how the leading brigade was approaching their camp in a hurry. Some were on horseback, carrying pikes, and ready for a full on assault. It would only be a few more minutes until the confrontation.
“I guess that will work for now. Come on!”
They grabbed their weapons and some light gear, leaving everything else behind, including the horses. Sytravious ran to his steed, grabbed his leather satchel, and secured it over his shoulder.
“Wait,” Hellios said, before untying the animals to set them free. “There, now they cannot count the horses. They would have been a dead giveaway that it was just the three of us.”
The trio began their escape, making their way high enough to get a full view all the way to Springdale.
“Take care of yourself, we will not be long. If you get overwhelmed, blow up the mountainside. The avalanche of rocks should slow their pursuit,” Nysight told him.
Sytravious hugged Nysight and then watched as they continued up the mountain without him. He stayed where the best defensive position was, and waited as the sounds of the military horses came nearer. With Griever in his grip, Sytravious let his magic flow into the weapon, igniting the halberd with the VanDrake power once again.
He could hear Kenshiro shouting commands to his men to take position. Sytravious had to resist the urge to go down and meet the General head-on, instead of standing his ground. The army marched forward, spreading out even wider to surround the side of the mountain. If Nysight and Hellios did not find a way through the mountain, this is where they would make their last stand.
Once they were within yards of Sytravious, Kenshiro ordered his men to halt. “Where is the priestess? If you laid one hand on her, I will---”
“You will what? Kill me? I dare you!” Sytravious shot a flaming explosion from his blade down at the soldiers. They leapt out of the way, and the magic crashed into the ground, shooting debris in all directions. The approaching battalions saw the blast and stopped in their tracks. Sytravious smirked at the sight of the army’s cowardice.
“You may have the upper hand for now, VanDrake, but your magic will only get you so far in this battle. Death will find you soon, just like it did for your traitor mother!”
Kenshiro’s remarks enraged him, and he answered with a dozen fireballs that wreaked havoc on the elite guard. Soldiers scattered in all directions to avoid his wrath. He could hear the General cursing and commanding his men to get out of the way. Sytravious fired a few more spells, forcing the men to pull further back.
The standoff continued over the next few minutes. He was taking advantage of his position on higher ground, and Kenshiro’s failed plan of attack. Sytravious was feeling good about the plan Nysight had come up with, until the infantry archers arrived. Kenshiro instructed them to fire, and a cascade of arrows rained down on the mountainside. Sytr
avious was forced to duck as the arrows kept pouring in wave after wave. That strategy allowed the elite guard to advance up the path again.
Sytravious jumped from his cover sporadically to shoot a fiery blast at the advancing soldiers, but this time they knew what to expect and held up their shields to block the attacks. However, their extra protection only worked for so long. The soldier started tossing the shields to the ground as the heat from his enchanted flames melted the metal.
He was trapped by the continuous attack led by the archers and he knew he had to do something to escape, so he resorted to Nysight’s backup plan. He jumped up and fired a powerful blast into the side of the mountain. The resulting explosion caused a tremor in the ground around them, causing a massive boulder to break free and crash down between him and the elite guards. Sytravious jumped back to avoid large rocks that fell. It had worked. The avalanche had interrupted their assault for the time being.
A few moments later, Hellios and Nysight came running down the mountain, rushing to his side. “Are you alright?” they asked when they saw the large stone blocking the army.
“I am just fantastic. By all means, take your time up there,” he replied.
The trio watched as the rest of the army arrived, and the other units spread out across the entire span of the mountainside.
“It looks like they are trying to find a different way up here. Tell me you have good news.”
“I have news, but I would not call it good,” Nysight said, “There is a narrow tunnel right around the bend. It leads to the other side of the mountain, but it ends with a cliff that drops into the sea.”
“So, we jump right? We cannot get off this damned rock any other way,” Sytravious declared.
Hellios shook his head. “I am afraid not, lad. It is too high to jump. When we hit the water, we would die on impact, but…”
“But what?” Sytravious asked. Then he saw Nysight and Hellios exchanged knowing looks.
“You could survive the fall by using your magic to soften the landing. Your mother did it once before and survived a fatal fall from a castle balcony.”
He stared at them in confusion. Sytravious did not like the option they presented to him. “What about you two? I am not leaving you up here.”
Nysight answered, “Well, it is possible your spell might be enough to protect you and one other, but not all three of us.”
“How can you stand there and tell me what my power can and cannot do? I have already demonstrated I have surpassed my mother. If she was able to survive her fall alone, then I can protect all of us.”
“But she did not survive alone, you were with her. She was pregnant with you at the time, and she barely walked away from that fall. You and Hellios will go, and I will try to escape off the mountain another way,” Nysight ordered.
Sytravious threw up his hands in frustration, and started to walk away from his stepfather, before spinning back around to face him. “Have we not lost enough? Why must you rush to sacrifice yourself? We both know you will not make it through that horde of soldiers. There is no escape, except by using my magic. Have some faith in me, for once.”
Nysight was about to rebut again when a magnificent blast obliterated the boulder Sytravious had brought down. Hellios pushed Sytravious out the way as debris flew past them and Nysight shielded his face with his arms, attempting to protect himself from the cloud of dust that followed. As he squinted through the dust and debris, Sytravious could see a brilliant light glowing at the tip of a white staff. When the view of the path cleared up, he saw that High Priestess Jezra had joined the fight.
Xertias flanked her, along with an entire squadron of guardians. Their armor reflected in the sunlight, but paled in comparison to the aura that was coming from their shields, which glowed with an enchantment. Sytravious swore under his breath and readied Griever to fight the old priestess as well.
“Son, be careful! She is experienced in magic duels. Do not be careless.”
“We do not have much of a choice now, do we?” Sytravious replied.
She shouted to Kenshiro, “Do not worry about harming the priestess. She is not up there. We have found her, so go ahead, and send your entire forces up there.”
Realizing they had found Raiven after all made his blood boil because he knew it would only be a matter of time before she would end up in Kenshiro’s hands. Especially now that Jezra was assisting him, Sytravious knew it would be inevitable. It appeared that Jezra and Kenshiro had put aside their differences for a common goal - to destroy him.
He summoned all the power he could and ignited the entire halberd in hot, pulsing, black flames. Sytravious aimed Griever’s blade at the center of the guardians and released a vicious attack. Massive flames soared down the mountain right at Jezra. A soft white dome of light appeared around her and the guardians just as his attack crashed over them. The flame bounced off the dome. Sytravious was astonished that she was able to deflect such magic, as it was the strongest he had ever attempted. “Who is this woman?” he asked aloud.
“Jezra has defeated warlocks as powerful as your grandfather. Her skills are unrivaled. It might be a safe bet to head up the mountain now, before they figure out that we do not have much left up our sleeves,” Nysight said.
Sytravious agreed, and turned to follow them to the tunnel when he heard an odd popping sound in the sky. He looked back to see Jezra forming a counter attack. He powered up his weapon in preparation to block her spell, but the barrage of lightning bolts that began falling all around, stunned him. There was too many to block, and one struck him in the arm. Sytravious cried out and slammed back into the mountainside, dropping griever with a loud clang. Smoke rose from the wound and his arm felt as if it had shattered.
Nysight and Hellios tried to help him, but he pushed them away. He stood up, grabbed Griever, and shot off a hail of fireballs past Jezra and into the crowd of soldiers lining up behind her. He yelled out in rage as he shot his flame indiscriminately.
Hellios yelled, “Sytravious, we have to go! What are you doing?”
“She will run to tend to the wounded. It should give us some extra time. Now, get me off this damned mountain,” Sytravious muttered.
Nysight and Hellios helped him up the path. There was no hiding how much pain he was in, but he knew they had to hurry because Kenshiro and his elite guard were sprinting up behind them.
“We will not be able to outrun them fast enough. They will get to the tunnel moments after us!” Hellios said.
“Then, we fight! Their numbers mean nothing inside that confined space. Sytravious, light his blade,” Nysight instructed.
Sytravious groaned in pain and shot flames from his fingertips to Daegon’s Rage. Hellios walked just inside the tunnel, and illuminated the space with the blazing sword. He leaned on his halberd for support as Nysight prepared his twin swords. He was prepared to use his magic to provide protection in the rear, while Nysight and Hellios would take on any who made it past his spells.
They surged in and squad after squad of soldiers rushed inside the tunnel. Kenshiro commanded his men into position as he stood at the entrance. Sytravious released his attack into the crowd of soldiers. Some of them fell, burning to the ground, but many others pushed through where they encountered Nysight and Hellios’ blades. The remaining soldiers’ defenses were hacked apart, until they were reduced to a pile of dead bodies.
The next wave of soldiers was even more determined to break through their formation, but Sytravious managed to hold his own despite his wound. The soldiers were backing them up in the tunnel, and they were just as close to its exit as they were the entrance. When the third wave of soldiers came in, they had the guardians with them. The guardians blocked Sytravious’ flame with their enchanted shields, which allowed the soldiers to attack with their pikes.
“Fall back,” Nysight shouted.
Sytravious let them retreat behind him, and got into a low stance before swiping his weapon in a sweeping motion at the guardian’s feet. T
hey screamed in agony as their legs burned with the black flame. With a break from the ambush, they ran down the tunnel as fast as they could until they reached the cliff. Sytravious turned back to the tunnel and took aim for the ceiling inside, blasting the tunnel walls. The exit collapsed and sealed off the cliff from the soldiers inside.
“Is anyone wounded?” Nysight asked through gasps for air.
They all examined their bodies, only to find minor scrapes and abrasions. The three of them slumped down onto the ground. Sytravious looked around as he took in a deep breath of fresh air. A dozen ships were already out at sea. His stare was fixed on one ship as he imagined him and Raiven aboard, and what land they might have chosen to travel to. He thought about where she might be right now, and as much as he missed her, he was thankful she left when she did. Having to witness the brutal battle they had just endured would have been terrible for her. He hoped Bryce was able to stay by her side, and that Elric had provided a decent cover story for her. Thinking of the constable reminded Sytravious of the last words between them.
I am not a bad person you know.
I know what you have in your leather satchel, so forgive me if I do not believe you.
Elric’s words haunted him, and he found himself gripping the satchel close to his chest. He was surprised he had not lost it in all the commotion.
“Sytravious, did you hear what I said?”
Nysight’s question snapped him out of his thoughts. Hellios and Nysight stared at him, waiting for his response.
“What?”
“Kenshiro will not be held back behind those rocks for much longer and you know it. You have to jump with Hellios. Save yourselves. I have a score to settle with the general, anyway.”
“Do not start this again! You know I cannot abandon you. I will not do it, so stop asking!”
“Sytravious, it is what needs to be done. Would you not rather die trying to live, than allow these idiots to kill us? Follow your general’s command!”
“He is not my general, he is---”
Sytravious: The Lost Warlock Of Moruz (The Oathbreaker Book 1) Page 29