It wasn’t long before the first spell struck. Gogo and I had been running for just under ten minutes when I spotted a flicker of movement to the side. Gogo had already sensed their presence, of course, and had their spear out and ready to attack before they’d launched their spell. From my point of view, I merely saw the Wild Mage appear out of the ground using a burrowing spell and put their hands together, flames flickering to life between their fingers.
Dexterity Save: 13 (+4) = 17 [Success]
I ducked under the jet of flames that erupted from between his cupped hands just in time, throwing myself to the ground. I slid for what felt like a dozen yards before jumping back to my feet. Dirt clouded my vision, preventing me from seeing clearly, but it didn’t stop me from seeing just enough to target the mage with a retaliatory spell. War Strike, using physical mana
Attack: 18 (+2) = 20 [Success]
Your spell has been countered!
The mage batted my spell aside with ease and sank back into the ground. Beside me, Gogo jumped aside to avoid the thrust of a sword from a new enemy, then slashed their spear, cutting a deep wound in their chest. They crashed into the bushes beside the track rather than burrowing out of sight. Either disabled or dead, I didn’t care. My eyes were scouring the trees around us, waiting for that first mage to appear again. And they did, popping out of the ground directly in front of us. Big mistake, I thought, drawing my sword and slashing forward in a single movement.
Attack: 11 (+4) = 15 [Success]
7 Damage
The blade of my sword ran the opponent through to the hilt, and the force of my body slamming into him knocked him back. Unfortunately, that locked me in place with him, and rather than lose the grip on my sword, I let us both hit the ground, rolling. The system didn’t say anything about the extra damage this did to him as the sword was jerked around, making the wound worse. But when I pushed myself back to a standing position and yanked the sword free, he didn’t move. I didn’t have time to check his condition, however, as I could hear the shouting voices of other pursuers rushing in from behind, catching up quickly. These two were simply the fastest.
“Keep going!” Gogo shouted as if I needed to be told. “We can’t get pinned down or it’s over!”
We set off on a dead sprint again, and the trees flashed past with our speed, creating a nonstop grey blur of trunks. It ruined my ability to see clearly to either side to notice incoming enemies. Another mage appeared right beside me. They didn’t burrow out of the ground. They’d teleported forward but kept up with my speed, supported by a small column of wind. Instinctively, I swung my sword at him, but the blade ricocheted off an invisible barrier without a sound, making me stumble. Then, to my surprise, the mage cast a quick wind spell to right me, putting me back on my feet.
“What the-” It wasn’t just any mage. It was Stormsong! The Wild Mage let out a laugh at my exclamation of surprise but made no attempt to attack me.
“I see you’re in quite the pinch,” he commented, glancing back along the path. “I’m part of the force chasing you, but I’m not going to hurt you.”
“You believe that I’m not corrupted?” I asked. “And why should I trust that you’re not behind this?”
He didn’t bother answering my questions. Instead, he released a powerful bolt of electricity from one hand. I flinched, but it went wide, missing me entirely. He clicked his tongue in mock annoyance. “I just can’t seem to hit you. You’re too fast.”
Beside me, Gogo let out a snort of laughter. “Can you help us get away?”
“I won’t attack my fellows,” Stormsong replied. “But yes, I believe I can help you. I can’t do all the work, however. You’ll have to try your hardest to get away.”
Another mage appeared to them, descending from the sky behind us. Almost at once, Stormsong released another spell, pretending to attack us. But he telegraphed the move, and I was able to duck under the ball of roiling flames that he’d released. The second mage had summoned a powerful gust of wind, intent on smashing us into the ground, but it collided with Stormsong’s spell, which was stronger, and knocked it safely out of the way. I heard Stormsong let out a curse as he fell back, almost as if we were too fast for him. He shouted something at the other mage, who shouted back.
There was a powerful explosion behind us, presumably from one of them, but I paid it no mind. The last stretch of the shoreline of the southern lakes was sliding past now, meaning that we would soon be out of the dense forest. That would eliminate the risk of surprise attacks, but would also make us more visible. I just hoped that none of our pursuers knew any artillery magic. With that much open space and no cover, we’d be sitting ducks. Well, running ducks. I let the matter go and focused on pumping my legs faster
You have been running for a while. Further sprinting in a short period will run the risk of exhausting you.
Like that was a surprise, I thought. If the system followed D&D rules, then of course over twenty minutes of constant sprinting would risk giving me exhaustion. Not like I could consider slowing down if I wanted to survive. But I did glance over my shoulder once we were a few hundred feet away from the trees, seeing four mages burst out from under the canopy heading toward us at top speeds. One of those was Stormsong, I thought. I wasn’t sure why he was going through so much effort to help us, as we were basically strangers. It couldn’t be just so he could guarantee fare onto a ship bound for Milagre. There was no way we could stay in hiding in Stormbreak Harbor long enough to wait for the ship that he intended to take.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Stormsong appeared beside us again, and once more threw a spell that was easy to dodge. “I have a favor to ask.”
“Anything!” I shouted. “As long as we make it out of this alive, that is!”
“Oh relax,” he said. “You haven’t killed anyone, but those guys back there aren’t fast enough to catch you.”
He threw another fake spell, which I dodged. For good measure, I took a clumsy swipe at him with my sword to sell the act. He swooped out of range of the weapon with ease and returned, grinning. “Nice one. There’s a tree just outside Stormbreak Harbor’s northern entrance. It’s split into three trunks. Leave ten gold there, and I’ll consider our trade complete.”
“I promise I’ll do that,” I said.
“Good,” he replied. “Maybe we’ll meet in Milagre. But now, I have to make it seem like I failed.”
I wasn’t sure how I could achieve that, but Gogo let out a laugh. “You want me to stun you.”
“If it’s not too much trouble.”
“Say no more,” the Beast-kin said. At once, Stormsong swooped toward them, and Gogo ducked, then jumped after him, hitting him in the back with a powerful strike of the blunt end of his spear. Stormsong let out a grunt of pain that wasn’t faked, and crashed to the ground. Before we were out of earshot, I heard him faintly wish us luck. Then he rapidly fell into the background, and we were free. Stormsong had been right, none of the other mages were fast enough to catch us. And they’d likely stop chasing to make sure that he was alright, after all.
“I hope that’s the hardest thing we have to deal with,” I said to Gogo.”
“It should be,” they replied, slinging the spear back over their shoulder. “As long as none of them come to Stormbreak, we should be able to be on a ship before news of us reaches the city.”
“One of them might teleport there,” I pointed out.
“I doubt it,” she replied, shaking her head. “The Wild Mages and the Druids of Zaban co-exist, but they don’t like each other.”
I realized she was right, of course. “Oh yeah. They practice unnatural magic in the eyes of Zaban.”
“Exactly. But they’re tolerated for their strength and the fact that they watch over the lakes.”
Not to mention the fact that an Ancient had formed that camp long before the nation of Zaban had existed, I thought, but didn’t voice that fact. That particular piece of history might not have been unknown, but it was rare, and I didn’t want Gogo thinking I knew too much unique information. “How long do you think it will take us to get to Stormbreak?”
By some kind of silent agreement, we’d slowed down considerably, conserving our strength for the rest of the trip. There wasn’t a place where we could safely rest, so slowing to a walk was our only option if we didn’t want to crash. “I’m not sure. Could be two hours, or three. It depends on which road we take.”
“What difference does it make?” I asked. “We should just take the most direct route, right?”
“Well, one potential route would take us directly to the docks,” Gogo pointed out. “We’d skirt most of the city. It’s the smallest chance of being spotted.”
“Ah. But it wouldn’t bring us anywhere near the tree where I’m to leave the gold for Stormsong.”
“It’s up to you. If you want the safer route, it means not upholding your end of the deal.”
I shook my head without hesitation. “I’m a man of my word, Gogo. I’m not going to dishonor our agreement.”
______________________________________________________________________
We made better time than expected on our route to Stormbreak Harbor and approached the gate just under two hours later. I spotted the tree that Stormsong had mentioned at once, of course, and left half my gold coins in a pile behind it, tucked out of sight. It was closer to thirty than ten, but I felt the difference was more than worth it. Hopefully the extra would make Stormsong’s trip a little more pleasant. Behind me, Gogo looked disinterested. I gathered that, in my place, she would have chosen the longer but safer path, even if it meant that she’d have to go back on a promise. I wasn’t sure how, but I knew deep inside that the danger wouldn’t catch up to us in time, and that we’d reach a boat and leave Zaban safely. So I had more than enough time to honor my word.
Purchasing space on one of the ships bound for Milagre was easy as well. For just fifteen gold, we were given a cot and a quiet place below deck in a cargo ship. The captain agreed to the fare at once, as he’d just unloaded all of his cargo. I suspected that he’d be returning to Milagre with all the gold he’d earned, where he and his crew would have some time off before making their next voyage. So Gogo and I, toting our packs and glancing backward to make absolutely sure we weren’t spotted boarding by the wrong people, made our way below the deck of the ship to settle into our bunks. About half the crew joined us a few minutes later, and not long after, the ship was rocking gently as it made its way out of Stormbreak Harbor.
“Excited to see Milagre at last?” I asked Gogo, looking up from a book that one of the crew had lent me to read on the voyage.
“It’s a new experience like any other,” Gogo said with a disinterested shrug. She was dozing lightly on her bunk, her pack serving as an extra pillow. “I don’t really care where I go, as long as it’s not boring.”
I chuckled to myself. Perhaps it wasn’t all that bad to live as excitedly as I could like Gogo professed to do. I would need breaks often, but it was something I could consider. “Glad I met you, Gogo.”
“My, my,” she replied, smiling coyly. “I hope you’re not flirting with me.”
“Hardly,” I replied with a snort of laughter. “It’s a genuine statement. Traveling alone is boring, after all.”
“That is true,” she replied. “Then I suppose I’m glad I met you as well. As long as you don’t bore me, I suppose we can make this a regular thing.”
Then she turned sideways, staring at the inside wall of the ship. I returned my attention to the book, and soon enough a light snoring sound filled our cabin from the many crew not working at that moment. Before long, I put a twig in the pages of the book to mark my place. The race to safety had taken a lot out of me. I was still confused and more than a little concerned about the accusation about corruption. I was still certain that it was nonsense, but on the rare chance that it wasn’t… Could I have been given a small amount of corruption without realizing it? No, not a chance, I thought. But there was still a nagging doubt in my head, and even after sleep rolled over me like the gentle waves around the ship, I couldn’t shake the suspicion that something was lingering, just below the surface.