Adelfried

Adelfried had been following the boy but stopped and stared at the two figures in the path ahead of him, a tall, heavy-set man dressed in tan and a small boy with a unique short, black hairstyle. The boy he was following continued past them without issue, but he couldn’t shake the feeling those two were looking right at him. He looked down at his hands again to confirm he still wasn’t visible. He pulled the Root out. It was still encased in its earthen shield, and still quite invisible. He considered for a moment the odd rings they wore on their eyes. Did those allow them to see through his enchantment. As he got closer, he realized the boy was a woman with short hair, yet another thing he had never seen before today. He stopped to see if their gaze would match his movements. It did.

He wiped a nervous hand across his brow. The sweat continued to pour down his face as this infernal land continued to cook him. Should he continue forward?

Intense pain hammered his shoulder, like a white-hot poker piercing through him. He fell twisting down to the ground. The nauseating sound of the bones in his shoulder crunching like gravel was all he heard before blacking out.

Red

“A masking field?” Red said. “I don’t see how—”

A crack of thunder rang out. Black plasma darkened the area around the hidden anomaly. To the left, the source of the attack, a tall skeletal man wearing a grey cloak also focused on the same spot.

Red felt his throat tighten. “Nigel,” he said under his breath. “Shit.”

“Who?” Nina whispered.

“A Sov mage, level eight or nine, very dangerous. Where the hell is our backup?”

“You’re a six, right? And you’ve been through advance combat training?” Red said, not taking his eyes off Nigel.

“Yeah, but closer to a seven…hey, how did you know that?” Nina’s voice was shaky.

“We can do this. Now be careful. You go right. Let’s circle in behind him.” As she turned to move Red tapped her shoulder and met her eye. “Quietly.” He emphasized with a finger over his mouth. “On three hit him as hard as you can.”

Nina nodded before picking her way to the right. Nigel appeared unaware of their presence and continued to focus on the hidden target he had struck. Red held three fingers in the air and counted down. Two. One. Red pushed both hands forward sending the strongest blast of ESH he could summon. Simultaneously Nina fired an orange blast.

Nigel raised a hand defecting them harmlessly skyward, not bothering to look away from the rainbow-swirling spot on the sidewalk. “Oh Red, you’ll never learn. But at least this time you brought a little toy for me to chew on. Is she my appetizer?”

“Give it up, Nigel, we got you surrounded, and reinforcements are on the way.” Red said, as he continued to step sideways making it harder for Nigel to deflect both his and Nina’s strikes next time.

“Two worthless Wreckies against a power mage? Been hitting the sauce again?” Nigel threw both hands in the air. Streams of black energy sprouted like a fountain raining down on Red and Nina from different directions.

Nina threw up her hands blocking two bolts with a quickly conjured shield. A third bolt struck her in the back throwing her forward and smashing her face into the ground. But, she was still in once piece. The ESHwear held.

Red spun the blasts that came for him back at Nigel who ended up deflecting his own attack.

“Crafty as ever, Red. But you know you can’t match my raw power.” The two faced each other, stepping sideways like two boxers waiting for the right opportunity to swing. Red fired a fury of attacks which Nigel deflected before returning fire. Both fighters traded blows while parrying each other’s attacks. To Red’s surprise, Nina was back on her feet. She moved in closer to Nigel, wiping blood from her nose. Tougher than she looks.

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“I got raw power for you!” Nina yelled crossing her arms tight to her body. A massive sonic shockwave of telekinetic energy pulsed towards Nigel, tossing him back like a rag doll spinning end over end. Another blast struck Nina on her side. Two more Sovs appeared out of nowhere. At the same time, two more Wreckies—their reinforcements—joined the fray. The small sidewalk under the overpass devolved into a furious fight as ESH snapped through the air in all directions.

Moving to protect Nigel, who was trying to right himself, another pair of Sovs stepped in front of him, bringing the battle to five versus three. They held a continuous stream of energy at Nina who held it off with a last second shield. But the attack wasn’t relenting. As much raw power as he knew Nina had, she couldn’t maintain it for long. She was still too green when it came to direct combat with a competent foe.

Red, mostly drained himself, pulled his sidearm out, but it had taken a direct hit and the trigger wouldn’t fire. He threw it down in disgust. He had to do something fast. The continuous attack was no doubt draining her blood sugar. She fell to her knees. Her chest was heaving. But the shield stayed up. She was on the verge of collapse.

A few paces away from the Sovs was a sewer entrance capped with a metal manhole cover. Moving items—even a large, heavy, piece of iron—was less taxing than a pure bolt of ESH, but more easily deflected. Surprise was key. With Nina’s attackers focused on her, he plucked the cover from the ground with telekinetic ease and flung it towards them. The heavy disc rammed into their sides collapsing them instantly.

Nina, now with a hand on the ground, waved the other in gratitude.

Adelfried

He groaned at the intense pain in his shoulder. Blasts of magic tore through the air around him. His shoulder was broken. He needed to heal his wound but the only way he could do that was to reveal himself. He slid himself off the stone walkway to provide himself some cover hoping he would go unnoticed. When he removed his invisibility no one seemed to notice him as the battle continued to rage.

The skin on his shoulder where he had been hit was black. Healing required lots of energy, and he was going to have to use the Root. He placed one hand over the wound on his shoulder and grabbed the Root with his other. He forced his fingers through the protective clay shattering it. The muscle and skin stung as it knitted itself at an accelerated pace. No time for precision, a simple patch job would have to suffice. The bones fused haphazardly, and the flesh closed. A moment later only a gnarled scar remained.

Now with a throbbing but workable shoulder, he scanned the battleground for his attacker. The tall slender figure in a dark grey cloak fired black bolts of magic in all directions. He was the one. On the back of the cloak there was a familiar irregular shape. Where had he seen that shape…it didn’t matter. This cursed land. These wretched people. They were between him and his family. With the Root firmly in his grasp he felt its power start to flow through him like a torrent. No, he mustn’t use the Root in anger. Don’t do what Harold had done. He wanted to let go, but the ache in his shoulder and the uncertainty of where he was made him squeeze it even tighter. This person had attacked him unprovoked, and he would protect himself.

Before he could stop it, the hot prickly sensation of magic took hold of him. The hooded figure exploded into a red mist, splattering the entire underside of the bridge above them. The power of the Root filled him. He sneered at the mere gnats fighting around him. An angry sweep of his arm thundered a tidal wave of magical power in all directions flattening the remaining combatants and cracking the bridge. His eyes hunted the surrounding area around like a savage animal, daring anything to move. Nothing did. He wiped more sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath before hurrying off after the boy.

After some time, the boy walked into an area of structures which Adelfried assumed to be homes based on their layout and spacing. The homes were all so perfect and similar in their construction. He toyed with the idea he had gone to a far-off land, but the magical metal carriages and metal bird he saw flying overhead quashed that idea as soon as it came up. He was in another world unlike his in so many ways. The only thing that looked familiar was the battle he was just in. But never had he fought so many skillful magicians with techniques unknown to him. Had he not had the Root with him to overpower them, he would not have won. He had to be careful, only getting close to the boy would keep the Root hidden now.

As he continued his walk through this peaceful village his thoughts went back to the life he had just extinguished and then to Harold’s actions. His heart twisted. Was he no better than Harold? Was the Root affecting him the same way it had corrupted Harold? No. He truly defended himself unlike his brother. He pushed his emotions aside. They weren’t going to help him figure out what to do next. He was alive. The Root was safe. And he was determined to keep it that way.