“I’ll carry her!” the chaos seed shouted. “We need to get the fuck out of here!”
Yoshi shook his head and held up a hand against the dust and dirt the storm was kicking up, “We will never make it to safety! Did you see that goblin caster? Hisako warned me of what it means when the vessels stand stark against the skin! The Bloodstone has taken control! It will keep feeding this storm until it runs out of mana or we are all dead! Look at how quickly it is growing! We cannot outrun it!”
“He is right!” Sion shouted. “The ravine will just funnel the storm’s attack! With our wounded, and having to carry the Hearth Mother, we will be killed! The pass is about to become a death trap!”
“Then what do we do?” Richter cried back. His soldiers had taken refuge amongst the trees. Those with shields were holding them in front of their faces. Even the surviving troll mercenaries had sheltered among the trunks a hundred yards away. No one even thought about continuing the battle. They could all see the form of the possessed Druid, glowing red like a torch on the other side of the storm.
Yoshi looked at the chaos seed, “We only have one choice!”
Richter looked at him in confusion then widened his eyes. He pointed at the storm. “You want to go through that?” he asked incredulously. The chaos seed looked out at the battlefield. The dead bodies were getting pummeled. Though he didn’t know it, the Bloodstone had funneled enough mana into the storm that it had progressed from minor to common. The size of the elemental attacks falling from the sky had grown larger, and they were falling faster than ever before. There were plenty of spaces that weren’t being hit with the elemental attacks in any given moment, but entering the storm and making it to the other side would just be a matter of luck.
“I will not fail the Hearth Mother! I will kill the caster and destroy the Bloodstone!” Yoshi shouted fiercely. The adept cinched tight the straps that held his swords in place on his back. “You do not have to come!” The storm was getting stronger. Even back in the trees it was getting hard to hear Yoshi from five feet away.
Richter cursed and looked at Sion. His best friend just looked back grimly. Then he reminded the chaos seed why they were best friends. With a cocky smile on his face, he shouted, “You have to admit the goblin’s spell is pretty impressive! I mean, how did he even learn it? How?”
The chaos seed sighed. He closed his eyes and hung his head. After a moment, though, he looked up at Sion with a wry and resigned grin of his own. “Well, fuck! Let’s go ask him!”
CHAPTER 42 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 15,386 EBG
Richter drank one of his remaining potions of luck. He also handed one to both Yoshi and Sion. Then he and Sion both cast Weak Haste on themselves. One of the village aeromancers did the same for Yoshi. Richter also took the time to cast every other buff he could, Weak Barkskin and Weak Life Armor. After that, it was just a matter of hoping that their Potions of Gaseous Form would offer some protection from the attacks. A few seconds later, they were running!
There was no magical field or transition point to let them know once they had crossed into the AoE of the Druid’s spell. The first indication was a fist-sized stone falling ten yards to Richter’s right. It sunk into the ground; the impact crater five yards across. Green gas came up from each crack that had been created, evidence that the stone was poisoned. Richter gritted his teeth and kept running.
*Master! What are you doing?* Alma’s voice echoed in his mind. The panic she felt at seeing him run into the maelstrom carried through in her mental tone. It was a conversation Richter hadn’t wanted to have. Despite his joking with his friend and Yoshi, he knew that this would most likely mean his death. The second time he had died had been much more traumatic than the first, and it had taken him longer to come back. He didn’t want to think about what toll his third death would take. He didn’t want to think about what would happen to his familiar if he did not come back at all.
*I am doing what I have to, my love,* he thought to her tenderly. *Fly back to the trees and stay out of the storm.*
*Master, I can help you! I am much faster now. If I-*
*No!* he thought to her fiercely. *Stay out of the storm! As your master, I order you to obey me!* He hated exerting his will over her, but Richter wouldn’t risk her fragile body A bolt of lightning struck the ground only yards in front of him, reaffirming his resolve. The shock transmitted through the ground, but his high Air resistance kept him on his feet. Richter kept running, but guilt ate at him for having spoken to Alma so harshly. With love in his heart, he sent her a final message, *I may not make it through this, love, but I promise, I will come back to you.*
No response came. He was going to speak to her again, but another falling rock forced him to dive to the side. Richter focused on the task at hand, silently wishing her well, come what may. He, Yoshi and Sion had spread out as they ran, to minimize the chance that one magical attack could take them all out. Before they had started running, Yoshi had given a simple command. “No one stops.” The message was clear. If one of them went down, the others were not to help. They all knew this would most likely be a one-way trip.
Richter was the first to go down. A bolt of freezing energy shot down from the sky and hit his leg. The chaos seed had experienced many different types of pain since coming to The Land. The elemental attack was nowhere near the worst, but it was horrifying in its own way. He tried to keep running and went down in a tumble. It was only then that he looked down and saw that his entire right leg had been flash frozen. From the thigh down, the limb had adopted the blue-white color of ice. The water crystals sparkled in the light. Richter cried out in disbelief.
Another firebomb fell from the sky close by. A piece of flame splattered onto his face. The burning pain brought him out of his shock. Richter realized that if this spell acted like his enchantment, then his leg would thaw sometime soon. If it was permanent, then there was nothing he could do. Either way, he needed to survive the next few moments.