Vidya was not happy. She was given orders to head into the human lands. There had been rumors of a huge magic anomaly. She believed it since she had felt the surge of the magic rush by her just the day before. She knew it meant the humans were trying to use blood magic once again. It was a foul practice, killing magic creatures to use what magic made them up to perform awful spells. She wanted to stop them and was not unhappy about having to go, but it was because none of the others taught her to be ready. She had been training to be part of the Moonlight Assassins since she was eight. The only reason she was going was because she managed to convince the leader of the group Ajal. He too was hesitant, but she was training with him, and he knew she had some useful skills.
When she had finally convinced him to let her go with the group to the human lands to track down this blood magic user, it was now night, having taken the whole day to convince him. She hurriedly ran to grab her bag and swords which were twin swords, but capable of having the blades fold into the long handles designed to allow her to switch to a two-handed grip if needed. The sword's blades could also open up for a pick allowing her to claim trees. She had tried to climb a rock, but the blades were not strong enough to keep her moving up more than a pace or two.
Once she had grabbed her swords, she quickly debated whether or not to bring her bow. She knew she should since most of the group was swordsmen and assassins. She had gone a different route. She dedicated most of her time to learning sword skills as a backup to her magic. She knew a few spells with her elemental powers. She was a storm elf unlike most of the others she was going with. They were moonlit elves capable of blending into shadows and moving quietly. However, she was capable of using the power of storms for fighting and enhancing herself and others. This fact was why Ajal had agreed to bring her. She had decided to bring the bow, as she could enhance the arrows with magic if needed. Once she had what she needed, she ran to the fountain where the rest of the group was waiting for her.
“Are you ready?” Ajal asked her as she approached the fountain.
“I am,” she responded. The others just ignored her.
“Light the crucible,” he said.
The lighting of the crucible was important for every assassin that left the hamlet, as the crucible would remain lit until either the one who lit it extinguished the flame, or if they died. If the flame went out and they were not back, then those in the hamlet would know who was lost. She lit the crucible that was set out for her.
“Let us take leave then,” Ajal said when she was done.
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The group then broke into a dead run, straight for the human's land. The human land lay just beyond the plains that separated the elven forest from the human forest. They were about a full day from the human's land for a human, but elves were faster and could run longer. They had left around midnight when the moon was highest since the group used the moon to gain extra energy. Except Vidya who, since she was a storm elf, so she could not. She instead used a little wind to help her keep pace. She could not hold it forever, she could at least keep it up until they made it into the human forest.
The group ran the whole way without stopping, and mostly in silence. It took them until about an hour after the sun rose to get to the human forest. There they slowed the pace and began searching for any clues as to what had made the huge surge. They could all feel the residual magic in the air, meaning it did not come from a city. That was a good thing because it meant there were less likely to be humans they would need to avoid.
“I felt the strongest residue in the plains,” one of the others said. “Near the human forest, whoever used that much magic must have returned.”
“Agreed,” Ajal said. “We should move into the forest. There is a human town not far away. If we start heading in that direction, we may catch up to the blood mage before they make it to the town.”
The group began to walk towards where they knew the town was the elves had brought a map with them. It was a little outdated, as the elves had not entered the human lands in about fifty years. And when they had, it was not to make a map. The one they did have was over a hundred years old. It would still show the town, but It was likely the town had more people now than it did. They would need to be careful.
Around mid-day, they decided to rest up. They found a small stream in the middle of a rock outcropping. There were two entrances, one to the north, and one to the east. It would be easy to stay hidden and protect should they need to fight. A few went to scout, leaving 10 in the main camp. Some decided to rest their eyes until ready to move, and the others either sparred or sharpened weapons.
Vidya decided to look over the magic creatures book she had stashed away in her pack. It discussed different magical creatures. She had finished the book already but enjoyed some of the creatures that supposedly came from other worlds. She did not believe they existed since everyone she knew even in different lands had never seen any of the creatures mentioned. After about an hour, they heard a distant, but scream. It echoed throughout the forest, everything from birds to the deer by the river. It sounded like someone was being tortured except it did not stop. When someone usually screamed, they would stop to take a breath between screams, but this one just continued for several minutes before it just stopped. No finishing echoes throughout the forest, just when the scream stopped, it went perfectly silent.
The group of assassins quickly grabbed their weapons, and Vidya stuffed the book back into the pack. Once everything was gathered, they broke into a run as fast as they could move. It was pretty fast, faster than almost anything. Some magic creatures such as dragons, drakes, or serpents were faster tenfold, but they could catch most other animals. After about 10 minutes of running, they could see humans in the distance. Elves had better eyesight, but the humans were already moving fast on their scales. The elves were able to catch up, but not likely before they made it to the next town. As they managed to get closer, they could see the human in the middle flipping pages of an invisible book. She knew most humans were mad, but just as she brushed off the idea, the man turned around and blue mana streams started swirling around him. Blue? I thought blood magic was read like the color blood. A moment later, a blue orb flew at an extreme speed straight at her. She dogged to her left, and the orb hit a tree only a couple paces to her right. The moment it hit and did nothing, she knew this was no blood mage, and that they would have to take the mage alive.