Save the children.Yael"s goal had kept him firm to his ground. That certain phrase had powered him to surpa.s.s his limits. "Save the children,"—that unwavering sentence which brought him to set foot into Alaris" dungeon made him the man he was now. An S-rank adventurer whose comrades trusted, and had high hopes upon.
Yael"s goal was as clear as day; The Guild Master, Shey, believed his objective will become the driving force that will set everything and everyone around him alight.
"You will be the pillar of light that will let the hearts of those around you aflame." Shey said, "believe in yourself, Yael."
Yael glanced at Arletha, who nodded towards him. A grave expression momentarily pa.s.sed through Arletha, but it quickly disappeared as she seized Samuel by the waist.
Upon grabbing Samuel, they flew to the sky in a single leap. Arletha"s boots were maneuvered with magical hexes made with the help of Vashti"s chants and Hosea"s grimoire; the spells enabled Arletha to jump high without overusing her mana. She used bows and arrows, which made it necessary for her to fight onto higher grounds to see a better view of the entire spectacle. It was also made convenient for commencing an escapade.
"Neat, huh?" Arletha exclaims, noticing Samuel looking over her boots. "This was made by Hosea"s grimoire. It makes me jump higher!"—Samuel released a "whoa!" as Arletha stepped through another building. Incongruously enough, the darkness was now slowly subsiding due to Vashti releasing several light spells. Although it still was considerably dark, Samuel could now see the buildings and monuments compared to earlier.
After hopping through several buildings, they reached a certain ruin—a clock tower—with the view circling the city of the dead. Vashti had now trailed behind them. Samuel couldn"t see her anymore from the considerable distance that separated him and Arletha to the Elven mage.
"Will Vashti be okay?" Samuel asks, worry laced over his face.
"She"s trailing behind, but she"ll be here in no time," Arletha answers, giving a pat to Samuel"s shoulder.
Samuel glanced back to the paths below, and with a turn, he went joined Arletha in scouting possible targets.
And little did they know that from that point on, everything had gone awry.
**
Vashti ran forward, chanting both a light spell to aid her vision and conjuring attack spells to clear her path. The whole necropolis had carca.s.ses and ruptures in the dregs. At every step Vashti had taken, bones—ranging from the femurs to skulls—strewn across the ground and some adventurer bones holding on to rusty swords hidden amongst the ruins.
Being a Half-Elf meant to have half the Elven talents. In Vashti"s case, she was able to enhance her senses a tad normal than that of a normal person. This talent is subpar compared to Fullbloods, whose talents outweigh that of mortals. However, regardless of Vashti"s "subpar" abilities, she was viewed as a strong warrior. Her strong sense of judgment and her capacity to adapt made up for her lacking faculties, and her optimistic personality made people around Vashti admire her more.
"Hyaa!" Vashti thumped her staff to the floor. It unleashed a repelling spell that sent the four necromorphs advancing to attack her be sent flying mid-air. She did a turn, positioning her heeled shoe firm to the ground before she leaped and swing her staff to the necromorphs coming from behind, setting them aflame.
"Oops, I"ve overdone it!" said Vashti the moment her feet returned to the ground. Vashti lifted her head and then darted her gaze to the clocktower—a silver dagger against the night sky.
Vashti took another step—and then another as she came running. She couldn"t afford to trail behind. They have to perfect the plan so that Yael"s efforts won"t be for naught. Yael went for the extremes. Even without her presence in the discussions, she was able to listen with her heightened senses. And Yael knew this for a fact, so she was left with the youngling, Sam chopping vegetables.
One thing that was redeeming about Vashti was that she had an unwavering smile. It wasn"t like that of Hosea, who looked like he was ready for sales talk every single time. Vashti had a mellower smile that marked her optimism.
And so—even if Vashti was hearing the plan from the distance, she was able to smile and talk to Samuel nonetheless.
Vashti thumped her staff to the ground once more, having the ground rupture and rise. Earth magic.
The concrete form below dispersed and wrapped to the necromorphs, enclosing them; the dispersed cement firmed up just in a matter of seconds, embracing the monsters in a cell made of the ground itself. This spell unleashed by Vashti rendered the necromorphs motionless.
"Persistent pests." Vashti pouted. She was losing time. She couldn"t afford to stall any longer. She had to go towards Arletha and the youngling to secure the plan.
If they could just transport Samuel and make sure he"s safe and sound to the clock tower, they can move forward at ease. Honestly—it wasn"t even necessary to go as far as to tell him they were going to kill him. Vashti thinks that Yael was acting rash and was going through extreme lengths because he views these events on a certain level.
Unlike Hosea and the others, Vashti wasn"t a Yael fanatic. People in the guild were very fond of Yael to a personal level, but she was new. She didn"t grow up with him or any of them. But that doesn"t make her admire him less. He still was the pride of the guild. And she respects that.
But Vashti believed it was wrong to tell Samuel they were killing him and views him as a threat. He was viewed by a child—and Yael"s prejudices had mixed his decision-making. Vashti"s judgment was top-notch and worth pondering upon; however, anything that concerned children made Yael not listen to anyone. No one can blame him, though. Even Vashti cannot reprimand his odd decision.
He was like that because of his experience.
His homeland.
Vashti continued to run. She was nearing the clock tower at every step she had taken. It would be a matter of minutes before she would be able to arrive at the clock tower.
But then she realized that she couldn"t go. Vashti parted her lips as her mouth tasted like copper. Blood started dripping to the floor as she felt pain spreading from her stomach to her whole body.
What in the world . . . did just happen?