14.

The group rode on horseback through the barren lands. Florian sat behind Ashe as they rode. Alaric had explained the circumstances of how he escaped certain death.

"Why did the snake help you?" Thorin asked.

"I don't know," Alaric answered.

"So the snake just helped you for no reason?" Thorin continued.

Alaric shrugged. "I felt Slavio trying to communicate with me but I couldn't understand anything." Alaric glanced at Florian who till this point had not spoken to him yet. Florian just kept his glance over Ashe's shoulder. He also noticed Ashe glancing at him strangely.

"You want to ask me anything, Ashe?" Alaric asked.

Ashe hesitated before she spoke. "Yes, it is about Jerial."

"Can't say I did not see this coming," Alaric said. "Yes, Jerial is my father or at least was my father."

The group fell silent.

"My father, Jerial the Merciless, Great Lord of Adhu Aqua. One of the strongest casters to ever exist. Some would even argue for the strongest. He was loved by many and feared by all. What made him stand apart from all other Great Lords at the time was his great intellect. Under his control, Adhu Aqua was prosperous. Alas, his untimely death threw the city in turmoil."

The rest listened to his story intensely.

"Do not be fooled, however, my father was a horrible man. He treated me and my… never mind that wasn't important. After his death, I had nowhere to go. Priest Able found me and the rest is history."

"Why'd you never tell us about him?" Florian asked. He still looked forward.

"Simple, it was never important. We all have dead parents."

Before anyone could speak, Alaric sped up with his horse and now rode ahead of the group. "Nixum, ahead! Stay behind me!" He yelled.

Thorin and Ashe rode their horses closer to Alaric.

"What are you going to do?" Ashe asked.

"A trick I learned from my father," Alaric whispered.

Come on, you have been too quiet.

Out of sight to the others, Alaric's eyes shone a bright purple. The shark-like nixum seemed to respond to him. They separated, seemingly making a path for them to cross through.

Happy?

Extremely.

Once they were past the nixum, Thorin piped up. "How did you do that? Caster's tried to tame the nixum for years."

"It is a curse," Alaric answered.

Florian scoffed.

After they passed the nixum threat, Thorin took the lead once again. She led them toward a different direction, claiming that the new way will lead them directly to Isern.

"I don't think I can trust you anymore," Florian said. He said it while staring ahead. Nobody questioned who he was talking about.

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"Florian, that is-"

"It is okay, Ashe. I understand completely. None of you has any reason to trust me." Alaric stated.

The mood turned sombre.

A few hours later, a tall building broke into the distance.

"What is that?" Ashe asked.

"Isern. That tall building is where we will find Chapman." Thorin explained.

"How far?" Alaric asked.

"I would say still a few hours but we are close."

"What is Isern like?" Ashe asked.

Thorin scowled. "A place where scum lives."

"Sounds like a great place," Alaric said. "Is that a person?"

Thorin squinted trying to see what Alaric had been talking about.

A figure stood clad in black in the pouring rain. The figure's face had been covered but just stood still as the horses approached.

"A bandit?" Ashe asked.

Thorin shrugged.

"If he tries anything, I will just block it," Alaric said.

As they approached the figure, they saw that it held a gloved hand towards its chest.

"Just move past," Alaric said.

Thorin sped up. The figure ignored her.

As Alaric was approaching, it jumped towards him. The jump had been unnaturally high. The figure raised an arm to strike him.

Alaric cast a barrier around him.

The figure's arm seemed to phase through the barrier and strike Alaric in the chest. Alaric was thrown backwards, he fell from his horse and onto the dirt. The figure landed in front of him immaculately. Alaric groaned in pain. How'd he do that? "What do you want?" Alaric asked. The figure pointed at its chest.

Alaric noticed Ashe's elongating spear approaching. She had caught it off-guard. Before the tip of her spear struck, it suddenly retracted. Alaric got back to his feet. His clothes had been all muddied. He hoped the tome that he attached to his belt had been safe. The figure readied another attack. Instead of casting a barrier, Alaric parried the blow. It had been aimed at his chest once again. The blow had been powerful but Alaric kept his composure. Alaric retaliated with a few punches and kicks. The figure blocked, dodged a few but not all. As the figure got hit, it had not made any significant noise. It had just stumbled backwards. Alaric and the black-clad figure attacked one another relentlessly. It looked like a beautiful dance in the rain. Ashe interrupted the two, she swung her spear at the figure, who expertly dodged. It grabbed her spear and wrestled it out of her hands. It then tried to strike her with the blunt end of the spear. Ashe responded quickly as she got low to the ground and tried to swipe at its legs. Before Ashe could connect, it jumped off the ground and with incredible athleticism, flipped through the air and landed perfectly a couple of paces from them. It spun Ashe's spear a few times in a taunt. Alaric saw Florian charge at the figure with the crimson blade. Before Florian could strike however he stumbled and fell. He cannot handle it. The figure let go of Ashe's spear and rushed towards Florian, who had been defenceless. A blade flew through the sky. Alaric recognized it quickly as Thorin's blade. The figure flipped into the air once again but this time he had caught blade midair. Thorin charged at the figure swinging her fists wildly, like an animal. The figure did not seem to fight back, instead, it just dodged her attacks. Alaric walked over to Ashe who was ready to charge as well. He put a hand on her shoulder. "We can't win this."

She nodded. "What do we do then?"

"You regroup with Thorin and Florian and head to Isern."

"And what about you?" Ashe scowled.

"I will be right behind you. I just need to buy some time so you can escape."

"I don't agree with you. We will fight together."

"There is no time to argue, we don't have much time."

"Promise, you will return to us safely."

"I promise." Alaric tied the pouch of sentz to Ashe's belt and gave her the tome. "Keep this safe for me."

Alaric and Ashe charged at the figure. Thorin had been tiring and attacking slowly. Alaric entered with a high kick that threw the figure off-guard. It couldn't dodge in time and was thrown backwards. Thorin's blade was tossed out of its hand. Ashe grabbed Florian who was getting back to his feet and then grabbed her spear off the ground. Alaric kicked Thorin's blade towards her. "Keep them out of trouble until I get there." He yelled at Thorin.

Alaric then charged at the recovering figure. Alaric crossed his arms then placed his hands on the ground. His fingers were placed so that it looked like a triangle. The ground around Alaric and the figure began to morph. A dome of dirt surrounded them, removing them from the surroundings. Within the dome had been dark, Alaric could barely make out where the figure had been. Just have to keep this up until they are a good distance away. Alaric realised that the figure could probably break out of the dirt when it wanted to if it could break through his barrier. He was not going to give it a chance though. Alaric could feel the dome sapping his stamina already. Alaric's eyes shone a bright purple. Alaric was the first one to move. They had continued their dance of limbs within the darkness.