Three riders garbed with black riding hoods are galloping in high speed along the main road from Feynor Port, Concorcea to Myrcalia. It’s been five days since they left Alceste, including two days crossing the Ingram Channel. Robert, Rael’charon and Ney’varíth don’t take any chances at all. Speed is their best bet.
Having eaten his fill on the boat, Robert doesn’t stop or take a rest at all, trying to keep up with the elves. However, Rael’charon who understands fully that humans and horses need rest more than elves do decides to stop at the first traveler’s lodge they find.
A meal and three hours of sleepless rest until sunrise they spend together in one room, chatting and watching over each other. Nothing happens so far. Nothing, even when they check out and continue on their journey.
As they ride in the forest road, suddenly a strong wind hits Robert. Alert, he slides down the right side of this horse, but alas, something hits Robert’s back with a loud ‘clank’, leaving a concentrated pain there. It must’ve been a pointy object.
The wind dies down abruptly.
‘Elf-made Plate Armor... Impressive,’ says a voice from a distance.
Then, a dagger flies swiftly towards Rael’charon.
Startled, Robert tries to stop it, but he’s too late! The pain slows him down. Ney’s reaction is not quick enough either. Rael’s life is in danger!
And the dagger lands... between Rael’charon’s fingers! Its tip is just an inch away from the elf’s eye.
‘You are really good with flying daggers, my friend,’ says Rael’charon coolly. ‘But catching daggers and arrows were also part of my self-defense training... which was not in yours.’ The elf shows the dagger to Robert and Ney. It is stained with blue-colored blood.
Robert realizes it at once. There are two people who can attack this quickly, Hulferd told me once. One is MacLair, the Rogue Assassin. The one with blue blood must be the night elf, Kyflynn. Gosh! Hulferd’s right. I’m not quick enough for both of them. Thanks to Rael, I was ‘saved by the armor’ again.
‘Good. Good. So worthy of the crafty Rael’charon.’
A figure appears from the woods, and stands behind Robert menacingly. Robert is right. He’s the night elf nicknamed the Windwalker. Kyflynn’s blue skin, long, purple hair, mischievous-looking face, and a black wolf tattoo on his left hand. The way he’s standing tells that he can take down all opponents frontally. He clutches his bleeding right thigh, staring at Rael.
Then he says, ‘Looks like we’re going to do this the hard way.’
From the front come a man and a woman.
Ney says, ‘Desmond, Agustina... Long time no see.’
Agustina, the white-haired sorceress whose face expression is as cold as her ice magic, as usual doesn’t respond, and Desmond the brawny blacksmith-berserker responds with, ‘Yes, but I’m afraid this will be the last time we see you three alive.’
Before anyone can ask for reasons why their allies from mission Enia’s Sanctum turn against them now, the Ice Mage suddenly casts her Blizzard spell.
‘An Jokul’me Fyasch!’
Agustina is going to freeze Robert’s party like she did to Sheena Mekh’ta’s bandits! *) As the Blizzard wave flies closer, Ney quickly counters with her signature spell: ‘An Petravia Prdaj!’
The Wall of Water instantly arises high like an ocean wave, blocking the Blizzard fully. Naturally, the water freezes, making the wall more solid. Ney smiles, and Agustina Vyrakova doesn’t look surprised... just cold.
Footnote:
(* Read Book One, Chapter Five in section ‘The Windwalker and the Bladedancer’
Then suddenly, the solid wall of ice cracks and breaks apart! From behind it, Desmond Edmundsen walks through, holding his great hammer Terra Nakroß. Apparently he just swung it with the break-it-all, earth-powered super strike, Megaton Impact.
Robert darts towards Desmond, shouting, ‘Let me handle him!’
Ney also shouts, ‘The Ice Mage is mine! Brother, can you handle Kyflynn?’
‘Same speed, mind over might. Yes, sure I can,’ Rael’charon answers, throwing the bloody dagger at Kyflynn. The assassin slides away. The flying dagger barely grazes his face, and he closes in to land a stab.
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Posted By vadis to The Fantasy World of FireHeart at 12/14/2007 01:46:00 PM
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