Adil found a path to head down, with his strange insight into the exact distance down he used his rope from the rogue kit Swift had bought and slowly lowered himself to the bottom whilst Seras stood at the top behind one of the pillars. Waiting with Kurt.

Adil at the bottom saw Kurt appear in one of the shadows.

“You’re sure you want to do this?” Kurt asked. Adil just gave a nod in reply.

Adil hidden in the dark corner of the pit focused the aim of his bow. He shot forth an arrow, and it fizzled away as the mage caught it with her strange magic. Disintegrating it in the air. Then the mage shot a force at Adil, seeing the outline of his cloak slam into the back wall.

Before she could turn, to her blind spot two axes swung, an uppercut of pure fury managed to get close but barely as Seras was frozen in place and pushed away.

“Is that all?” The dryad asked.

“No” Adil replied, appearing just behind her, without a cloak and Kurt on his shoulder. He focused on the tendrils of essence that were torn open from her magic. Trying to connect to her mana he shot in grasping hold of her black-white essence.

Suddenly he saw a forest, a young lady dryad, the mage, was walking through rubbing her hand along the sides of trees as shouts of panic began to emerge in the distance. Banners appeared through gaps of the forest, the image of red-black armoured warriors.

Another dryad came running forward.

“Run.” He said as an arrow shot through the side of his head.

Hidden behind the tree she began to panic. She fell to the grass unable to get away before the banners came closer, passing where she waited. A unit passed by and turned.

A face of a goblin, no more sublime, refined and fierce, stared down at her. It was an Orc, blood on his ornate armour the shine on its dark metal illuminating in red.

“No” The witch cried, as Adil was ripped back to reality. A panicked look on his face, the dryad went to lift her staff and as Seras came close again pushed at her with a force of her hand. Adil dove in again. Stabbing in with his tendrils of mana.

He saw the Dryad standing beside a tree, a look of sadness and contemplation on her face. She was staring into the tree, a creature’s face visible on it. That of a baby, a strange upturned nose. Adil was drawn back into reality.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Swifts hand was on Adil’s shoulder now.

“Stop this.” He said.

Adil released his power, Seras was mid-dive towards the mage. Leaning in for a finishing blow the dryad was on her knees unable to move. Swift got in the way.

“Move, what are you doing?!” Seras shouted.

“You don’t have to solve everything with violence.” He replied.

The goblins around had started moving in, not threateningly but pleadingly. They were all small, infant goblins. They didn’t seem like they were ready to hold a sword, or even capable. They could have stopped them at any time if they could, but they didn’t, either out of fear or lack of understanding.

“We are surrounded.” Seras said.

"What?" Adil replied.

Seras was taking glances to the goblins then looking forward again a blank expression on her face. A goblin came closer, crawling, it went towards Seras and touched her foot, she drew her axe and was about to swing when another goblin dove in the way to protect the little one, staring at her fiercely. She dropped the axe.

“I’m not.” She said and began to look panicked. She collapsed to her knees staring towards the ceiling breathing heavily. Unable to look at the goblins.

The witch was collapsed on the ground, but furiously turned and held Seras in her magic for a second, exerting all her magical power and then collapsed again coughing blood and releasing the energy.

“They will never understand.” She said to Swift.

“Everybody just relax.” Swift shouted.

“Do I need to freeking spell it out… Adil, it’s Spec Ops: the line.”

“No. Fucking. Way.” Adil replied.

The woman was collapsed on the floor and began coughing a spray of blood on the floor. Adil walked over to her and she turned furiously. A glow of black-white around him that faded without doing anything. He knew she was now incapable of magic.

white-blue vein-like lines were visible across her face, leading through her neck. Even on her hands.

“Mana poison,” Kurt said.

“She won't last long.”

“What is that?” Adil asked.

“A mage cannot use much magic without poisoning themselves, high elves and dryads can use a lot more than a human, but she is at her limit.” Swift said.

Adil could sense her aura, it was thin, melting too and combining with the space around it. He knew that wasn't what it was meant to do.

He felt through his open connection tot he world something wrong like he knew what was happening.

“I think I can help.” Adil said.

The woman looked up at him in disdain. Distrust and pain evident in her eyes.

“He can help.” Swift said. moving over to her. She looked down, she knew she had little left and was practically at their mercy. 

“Do what you will. Just make it quick” She said,

“I may have to go into your mind.” He said.

She looked up at Swift distrustfully, and again at Adil seeing enemies around her but still a glimpse of hope. It was hard to tell what she wanted. She refused to answer.

Adil looked around to see what was acceptable, he looked back at the dryad and saw something like hope, before she seemed to latch on to her safety net of distrust.

Adil couldn’t let it end here and so reached out his mind, an ethereal connection spreading to a lumping mass of dissipating mana. He reached further, searching for a consistency that he could connect too and linked in. He could feel the connection happen, the poison, the lack of consistency in her essence. He pulled at it, sucking in the excess and building the contrast to space around. He warped into her memories again.