Wei moved like lightning, his spear a blur as he lunged at the tribesman before us. The tip of the spear zeroed in for the man's jugular with deadly precision, but the tribesman was quick, leaping back just in time to avoid the lethal thrust. The tribesman’s eyes widened in surprise at Wei’s speed, but he didn’t falter. The wooden whistle remained at his lips, and his cheeks puffed up as he blew. The shrill sound cut through the air, a signal to whoever was awaiting it.

Before the echo of the whistle had even faded, two of the tribesmen beside him sprang forward, positioning themselves between Wei and their brother. But Wei was relentless. With a swift pivot, he redirected his spear, driving it into the throat of the tribesman on the right. Blood sprayed from the wound as the man clutched at his throat, eyes wide with shock, before crumpling to the ground.

“Do not hesitate! Kill them, and all the elixirs they carry with them will be ours!” The man shouted. The second tribesman didn’t hesitate, he thrust his spear towards Wei’s center mass. The clacks of wood hitting wood resounded in the air as they both fought to kill the other. Another tribesman stepped out of the crowd, joining the second into forcing Wei to retreat back into the safety of our group. Seeing their success, the tribesmen backed up and regrouped, buying time for reinforcements to arrive. Wei shot a glance back at me, his eyes sharp with urgency. “Sage, you need to head to the city! Take the non-combatants and go!” he yelled, his voice cutting through the chaos as the other guards engaged, trying to dispatch the enemies before the rest of the tribesmen came to pincer us.

As I glanced back however, my heart sank; having hoped to see a clear path, I was met with the sight of a small group of tribesmen already rushing to block the way to the city. I wouldn’t make it back to the city, and neither would the assistants who had stayed close, their faces paled with fear as they too realized the direness of the situation. Running was out of the question.

My grip tightened around my staff, the familiar feel of my walking stick suddenly alien as it transformed from a tool of support into a weapon. I had trained for only a few months, trying to master its use in combat, but I was still far from being a fighter. Yet, there was no time for fear—only time to act.

Wei lunged back into the fray, rejoining his fellow guards in the thick of battle. Time was running out–the second wave was almost upon us. I could already see their eager reinforcements sprinting toward us, their eyes gleaming with the anticipation of bloodshed. Wei seemed to know that we needed to dispatch the ones that were already here in order to avoid being overrun.

Lost in my panic, I barely noticed as a tribesman managed to slip between a pair of guards before lunging at me. His spear shot toward my chest with deadly precision. My body moved before my mind could catch up, almost tripping as I stumbled backward. He swung again, and I raised my staff just in time, a resounding thud rang out as I blocked the attack. The force of it jarred my arms, but I held on tight.

Adrenaline surged through my veins, heightening my senses. Instinct took over as I countered with an attack of my own, swinging the staff in a wide arc, the wooden shaft connecting with the tribesman’s arm. A sickening crack echoed as bone shattered. The man howled in pain, dropping his spear. I flinched, hesitation gripping me for a split second, before forcing the fear aside, mentally kicking myself back into action.

I swung the staff again, this time targeting his head. The tribesman, desperate and in pain, tried to retreat;but I had the advantage. The staff whistled through the air before connecting with his skull. The crack of bone was unmistakable. The man collapsed at my feet, unconscious or worse.

A howl pierced the air as a guard got cut down, and another tribesman charged at me, his spear aimed low. I blocked his thrust with my staff, wood meeting wood with a sharp crack. With a quick twist I swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. This time I didn’t hesitate and followed up with a quick strike to his head, ensuring he wouldn’t get back up.

My breath came in ragged gasps, the exertion of the fight taking its toll. But there was no time to rest. The circle of enemies was tightening, and my guards were locked in their own desperate battles, our numbers dwindled as there seemed to be no end to the attackers. I had to keep fighting, I had to do something.

Another tribesman approached, this one built more like a square. He held his spear loosely at his side, arrogance coming off him in waves. Being filled with adrenaline however, fear had become a mere afterthought. I planted my feet, anchoring myself, and gripped my staff tightly in preparation of the attack. He lunged, and I sidestepped, bringing my staff around in a sweeping arc. The man managed to block with his spear, countering with a thrust from an angle, grazing me as it barely missed center mass. He swiped upwards, cutting into my arm as I was preparing a retaliatory strike. I was rattled but it seemed like my arm remained mostly functional. I backed up, buying myself a precious few seconds. As the tribesman attempted to close the gap between us, I swiftly thrust the tip of my staff forward as if it were a spear, catching him by surprise and hitting him square in the chest. It didn’t do any damage, but it managed to stagger him, opening him up for another attack. I swung my staff upward, catching him under the chin and sending him sprawling to the ground.

The fight, the blood, the screams, all of it engulfed me. I struggled to tune it out as I slammed my staff down against his throat. Watching the life drain from my opponents was something I could have never prepared for. It was brutal, and it was terrifying.

Catching a few seconds to breathe, I spotted Wei not far from me, and what I saw could only be described as a dance. He held his ground, his spear a blur as he cut down another attacker. He moved with grace, weaving in and out of attacks, his spear always in motion–both defending and attacking in perfect harmony.

A scream pierced the air, sharp and full of terror. I turned to see I had been separated from the group of non-combatants. A young assistant , barely a man, was desperately trying to fend off a scarred tribesman with a spear of his own. But his movements were shaky and untrained, his hands trembling as he struggled to keep the spear in place. The tribesman was ruthless and exploited the young man's weakness without mercy, knocking his spear aside with contemptuous ease and plunging his own weapon into his chest. The young man crumpled to the ground, his eyes wide with shock as the life drained out of him.

I tried to run back towards the group, only to be blocked by another tribesman, this just slightly shorter than the rest. In my hurry, I tried to sidestep him, only to be punished for my carelessness as I felt a sharp pain of a spear gouging into my side. I growled in pain, and I recklessly swung my staff, managing to get a lucky hit in and making the man stumble backwards. I don’t have time for this. These people are going to annihilate what are essentially armed but untrained civilians. Behind the short man that had stopped me, the scarred man continued to strike down the assistants as they scattered. Some managed to put up a fight, teaming up to take the tribesman on simultaneously, only to find themselves outmatched when more of their number showed up.

Noticing my gaze, the short man smirked and didn’t engage, feeling no hurry to start the fight himself. He knew I was on a time-limit, and he wanted me to start the fight and possibly make a mistake. I growled in frustration, my nerves fraying even through the surge of adrenaline in this high stake situation. I faked a lunge to his left, before quickly switching to the right to attempt a feint. The man, clearly no novice, did not fall for my faint and attempted to strike me, but I knocked his spear aside. I tried to circle him, but he matched my movements, and we ended up sidestepping in tandem. This isn’t working. I need to do something drastic.

But there wasn’t much I could do. This guy smiled at my frustration, goading me. “What are you going to do, big man? Your friends are getting killed. Are you just going to dance with me and watch?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Rage consumed me, and I threw caution to the wind. I swung my staff down in a diagonal arc, from the top right to the bottom left. He blocked my wide swing, his hands shaking from exertion, yet he continued smiling at me as we faced off. I dropped my staff and lunged at him. His smile strained and turned into a snarl as he tried backpedaling before I tackled him to the ground. We wrestled in the dirt as we both tried to get on top, with him eventually ending up beneath me. I started throwing punches, all aimed at the face. I punched. And punched. And punched.

The man stopped moving and I sprang up, looking around me. The roar of blood pounded in my ears as I spun, ready to strike–only to be met with an unexpected sight.

There were no more enemies.

The clearing was littered with bodies, both of the tribesmen and our own. The slick, blood-soaked earth telling the story of the battle that had just unfolded. In the distance, I caught sight of the remaining tribesmen fleeing, their backs disappearing into the forest. The silence that followed was almost deafening.

I stood there, looking at the empty clearing, with only Wei, myself, and four other guards remaining. I looked at where the assistants once stood, only to see Wei gravely standing over the men who had spread chaos among them.

“We,” I laughed, the sound escaping uncontrollably, “We survived.” The words barely made it out before the laughter twisted into sobs. I dropped down to my knees, covering my eyes with blood-slicked arms. Why did this have to go down the way it did? Why couldn’t we have traded in peace? Why did all these people have to die?

I heard footsteps approaching me but I paid them no heed, mourning at the situation we ended up being in. The footsteps stopped as soon as they were near my head. It remained quiet for a few more seconds, before my grieving was interrupted. “I’m sorry to interupt your mourning, Sage. But we are not out of the woods yet. There could still be more reinforcements. We need to head back to the city before we can be sure we’re safe.”

I didn’t want to listen, but logic eventually prevailed as I stood up. I looked at the small group of survivors remaining, and saw that I wasn’t the only one affected by this. Looks of listlessness and sorrow surrounded the few men that stood beside me. The only face that was different was Wei’s. His face held anger.

After a few minutes of walking, Wei pulled me aside. “Sage, I need your blessing.”

That helped me break myself from my thoughts as I looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean, Wei? What would you need my blessing for?”

He looked past me, both frustration and anger battling for real estate on his face. “I want to hold the person who caused this responsible.”

“What do you mean?” I looked at him in confusion, “The men that attacked us are dead.”

“Yes, the tribesmen already got what they deserved. But I want to hold the instigator responsible.” He replied. “They were after the goddesses' elixir. There was only one person that should have known that we brought it.”

The dots connected inside my head as realization struck me. There was only one man besides those gathered that not only knew we had the elixir, but who was also the one to suggest we trade so far outside the bounds of the city to make the tribesmen ‘feel more welcome.’

“The Chieftain.” I said, almost in a whisper.

Wei nodded. “Indeed, he is the only logical lead to this mess. And I will make him pay for shedding my brothers blood for his own petty grudges.”

“My accusations alone won’t be enough.” I replied , seeing anger almost overtake Wei before I quickly added, “But I can have the Priest see reason and side with us. It is almost certain that the Chieftain was at least partially responsible, and the Priest will see that too.” Wei nodded at me, and we quickly rejoined the group.

As the landscape changed, the outskirts of the slums emerged around us. Ramshackle homes leaned against each other, the people here living outside the protection of the walls, still being treated like second level citizens despite my best efforts. As we walked past the shacks, curious eyes followed us, watching the armed and bloodied men make their way through.

An eerie silence hung over everyone as we walked. Children peered out from behind doorways, their eyes wide with fear and fascination. Women paused their chores, their hands stilling as they watched us pass. Even the men, who had initially seemed ready to approach, hesitated once they saw our eyes. Everyone knew something had happened. The tension in the air was thick and palpable.

By the time we arrived at the gate, a small crowd had gathered. The guards, alerted by the commotion, remained inside the walls, peering out. Their eyes narrowed as they looked at our bloodstained clothes.

“Halt! State your names!” One of the guards demanded.

It took me a moment to realize I had been stopped–something that had never happened before. I looked down and I knew why. I was unrecognizable. “I am Sage Jie Mins! I have returned from a failed trading trip!”

They exchanged uncertain glances, hesitating. My patience was wearing thin, and exhaustion was beginning to creep in as we stood there. “You will let me in. I have important news to announce to the council.”

The authority in my voice spurred them into action. They quickly scrambled out of the way, letting us pass. The crowd attempted to follow but the guards stationed at the walls held them back and quickly closed the gates. As we walked through the city streets, the treatment we received was much the same–wary eyes and hushed whispers followed us..

As we approached the city hall, we found the Priest already waiting for us, alongside Lian and several elders. Lian fidgeted, clearly struggling to find words to bring up as she glanced at the powerful figures surrounding her. Worry etched her features as she met my gaze. Whatever she saw in my eyes did nothing to ease her concerns.

“We’ve been sabotaged.” I began simply as we came to a stop.

The Priest's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly that,” I replied. “We were attacked after it was revealed that we had the goddesses elixir. They were prepared for us. There is only one man that not only knew that we had the elixirs but also insisted we travel so far away from the city.” I paused to catch my breath. Everyone else held their breath waiting for my next words. “The Chieftain.”

Gasps spread through the elders, while the Priest's eyes turned grim. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

It was a simple statement, but it carried enough weight to briefly silence the audience. But only for a moment.

“That’s absurd!”

“How dare you accuse him!”

“SILENCE!” I shouted.

Everyone fell quiet, their eyes wide in shock. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I've ever raised my voice in this world.

“The only person's opinion that matters to me right now is the Priest’s. If I do not receive justice for the murder the Chieftain had committed, I will leave you all to fend for yourselves against the Plague.”

Silence continued to reign. An elder attempted to speak, but a sharp glare silenced him. All eyes turned to the Priest, waiting for his response. After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke. “We cannot afford division when the threat of the Plague looms so near.” I frowned, but he continued. “However, there can be no unity if one of our own commits sabotage, especially against a Sage. If what you say is true. I will see that justice is done. For now, someone has already been sent to find the Chieftain and request his presence. He should be here at any moment to defend himself.”

Just thinking about the Chieftain’s ugly mug made my blood boil, but before I could dwell on it, a runner ran up to the Priest. He whispered something in the Priest’s ear, and we all waited anxiously for the Priest to relay the information. A variety of emotions displayed on his face, before settling on resignation. “It seems the Chieftain can’t be found.”

Cries of disbelief erupted from the gathered elders. “What are you implying, Priest? Are you saying that the Chieftain not only tried to murder the Sage, but had also fled, abandoning us to face the Plague by ourselves?” A man cried out.

The Priest quickly responded, “I did not say that, but I do believe it is in the city’s best interest to prepare for the worst.”

That bastard. Not only did he almost kill me, he killed the dozens of people that were with me. And now he RAN? If I ever get my hands on him. I’m going to strangle him with my own two hands. As promises of revenge were made, another runner appeared at the end of the street. This runner was more panicked than the one reporting the absence of the Chieftain.

As he ran within earshot, we heard him shouting out something that made all of our blood run cold.

“The plants are dying! The plants are dying! The Plague is here!”