Of all the things he had seen and experienced since coming into the tunnels, nothing shocked Gabe more than seeing Freya holding her own against the feathered creatures. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she was a capable archer. He’d heard many tales about the feats performed by her and her old party, and he even believed that at least half of them were likely to be true. No, the thing that was the most incredulous of the whole scenario was that Freya was in the tunnels at all, let alone fighting with another party. Gabe couldn’t even begin to fathom what she was doing there or how she ended up in Daerlym.
He took a step forward intending to go help her, only to be stopped by a firm grip on his hand. Looking down, he saw it was Professor Alrik who had stopped him.
“Professor, I don’t know if you remember but that’s my friend Freya out there,” Gabe said pulling his hand away. “I can’t just stand here while she’s in danger.”
“I understand Gabriel, but there is more at play than you realize. The group she is with is not an ordinary adventuring party. Now that we are closer, I recognize their leader. Iansi’a Ere’ialo is a knight captain within the Pathways of Illumination’s battle forces. I do not know what lies she has been told but she has been chasing me across Pelios ever since I tried to go to nobility in the Kingdom of Dupry
We had a run in a few months back outside the Woal Swamps and she made it clear that her orders were to take me in alive or dead. If not for the fact that she did not have her full team with her, I do not think I would be here. Drevock was able to subdue her and we made our escape, however, I am not certain we will be able to replicate the feat.”
Gabe didn’t know what to make of the professor’s words. It seemed too much to be a coincidence that Freya had grouped with the very same people that had been hunting Professor Alrik, but for the life of him, he couldn’t make sense of why she was here in the first place. His confusion must have been clear across his face because Professor Alrik continued speaking, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice.
“I know you want to help your friend but trust me when I say that there are few groups that are as capable as that one. I have no doubt that they will be able to take on these beasts, the alpha included. Iansi’a utilizes her radiance mana to deadly effect and her team has been hand-selected to be able to take on any enemy. We must escape back to the citadel and the vault. One of the artifacts I cataloged was for an illusion-based class that might be enough for us to sneak past them while they are distracted. We will need to grab as many of the artifacts as we can and hope that it will be enough. I understand that you might find this plan unsatisfactory. You have done more than enough to get us to the vault and if you want to stay to help your friend, I will not stop you.”
Done talking, Professor Alrik took several steps back the way they had come, leaving just Simon standing next to Gabe. From the expression on Simon’s face, Gabe guessed that the earth mage was having an internal struggle similar to his own. He kept fidgeting with the hammer in his hand, looking back and forth from Gabe to Professor Alrik. Finally, hanging his head low, he mumbled a quiet apology to Gabe before following the professor.
The two of them stood there for a few moments, waiting to see what Gabe would do. He cast another glance toward Freya as she turned around and shot an arrow that exploded with a firey plume at a creature attempting to catch her by surprise. Seeing her like this, she seemed more alive than she ever did behind the desk at the Adventurer’s Guild. Next to her, a big fellow holding an even bigger shield glowed briefly as he lifted the shield as though it weighed nothing and bashed one of the creatures with it, sending the beast flying through the air where something Gabe couldn’t see impacted it, creating a hole in the center of its chest. They along with the others all moved with a grace that could only come from years of practice as a team.
As much as Gabe hated to admit it, the professor’s words seemed to ring true. This was an elite team that was more than capable of handling these creatures. Even the alpha wasn’t doing so well, the figure with the glowing sword and the wings made of fire darting around it with the speed of a starling left bleeding wounds with every strike. It was simply a matter of time before they would take it down, and what would happen then? If they were able to take care of all the normal creatures and the alpha, there was no way that Gabe, Simon, and the professor could take them on. He doubted they would be able to convince Iansi’a to let them go either, so it would likely mean letting them arrest Professor Alrik.
Perhaps if they just explained what was really going on, maybe even showed them the vision of the war, they would understand why it was so imperative that Professor Alrik be allowed to continue searching for a way to weave mana through the soul. How could a reasonable person not want to pursue any chance of stopping such horrible carnage? They might even be able to petition to have him speak directly with Arch-Magus Vernma and have him clear everything up.
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But no, the professor had already tried to explain all this before. Whoever was working against him within the Pathways of Illumination was determined to prevent Professor Alrik from speaking with the Arch-Magus. All turning him now would mean is that the vision would definitely come to pass. If there was any hope of stopping it, the professor needed to remain free to continue his research. Making a promise to himself that he would catch up with Freya and explain everything once it was settled, Gabe turned his back on his friend and walked toward Simon and Professor Alrik.
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“They’re leaving. What are your orders?”
Sometimes Iansi’a really hated being the leader. She ducked under the tail of the alpha seraphdrake as it lashed at her and plunged her sword deep into its side, eliciting another roar from the beast. It had been quite a shock to see these creatures down here as they had long since been thought to be extinct, though then again seeing a fully intact Vlatiryx settlement had also been a surprise.
Selira had notified her immediately once the fugitive and his group came into her detection range and Iansi’a was content to see if they would come join the fight. It would certainly have made their jobs a whole lot easier if they didn’t have to chase them down, though the fact that the Selira couldn’t sense the bodyguard gave her pause. She remembered how he’d been able to defeat her that last time they’d fought and she was looking forward to a rematch, even as she continued harrying the alpha, dodging claws and fangs, doing enough damage to keep it busy but holding off from finishing it off as she thought about what to do.
In truth, she didn’t need to think hard about it. Being the leader meant making the tough calls that got the job done.
“Let Freya know her friend is here. Spread the order to let one of the seraphdrakes through when she’s distracted, but have everyone ready. We want her injured, not dead. We might need her later depending on how this goes.”
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“Freya, I’ve just detected Gabe. Approximately four blocks to your right. He is with the fugitive and his apprentice, with no sign of the other one. From this distance, I can’t tell what Gabe’s current condition is. I thought you should know.”
For the first time during this fight, one of Freya’s arrows missed its target, shooting right past the seraphdrake she was aiming at and exploding against the side of a building. Gabe was here, they had finally made it to him. She fired off another shot, this time hitting the seraphdrake directly in its chest. The enchanted arrow blew a sizable hole through the breast, taking it out of the fight. She waited for a beat to see where the next seraphdrake Selira would tell her to shoot was, but when there was nothing, she chanced a look to her right. She could barely see in the cavern, the light from Iansi’a spells just enough that she could make out three figures rushing down the street.
Even though she couldn’t see him clearly, Freya immediately knew which one was Gabe. They’d been friends long enough that she could identify him from the way he moved alone. But why was he running away from them? If they had gotten close enough to the fight, he had to have seen her. He wouldn’t just leave her, not if he was in control of his own mind. Her fears that the evil gnome had succeeded in turning Gabe into a mindless servant crossed her mind. She needed to get to him, to get him away from Alrik. She took a half-step in that direction before something solid impacted her side. Sharp pain erupted along her left thigh and leg and she let out a scream as she fell to the ground.
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“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
Gabe stopped short, his skin prickling with gooseflesh and his stomach twisting in a knot. They had only managed to make it a few blocks before he heard it, heard her. The pain and anguish in Freya’s voice made his blood run cold. He turned around even as Simon called back to him
“Gabe, what are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, but I have to help her,” he said running towards the battle.
Simon may have said something else but Gabe couldn’t focus on that right now. He was going over the spells the Verdant Guardian class granted him. With a thought he activated Vital Surge, the foreign mana flooding his body with energy allowing him to more than double his speed as it complimented Aura of Vitality and he raced toward Freya. He watched as one of the other members of the party, a man with dark skin wielding a staff, swung the weapon into the side of the creature on top of Freya, the impact cracking its scales and prompting it to release her, and then he was there.
Another mental command sent mana swirling into the pattern for Soothing Moss, a bed of glowing green moss covering Freya’s wound. Her body relaxed as the healing magic from the moss flowed into her and Gabe prayed that it would be enough. Having a mental impression of how a spell worked didn’t mean he knew exactly how effective it was. Still buffed by Barkskin, he pulled out his knife and looked around as he huddled over his injured friend. He wasn’t going to let anything else get close to her.