"Rise." Dorin said under his breath. The ground before them rumbled and jutted out, breaking the concrete walkway, before it rose to make an alcove, 6 feet high, covering the 2 from the advancing flames.
‘Earth magic...’ Seb thought to himself, looking at Dorin.
He pulled out another bottle and hurled it at the 3 attackers. The glass hit one of them, shattering, and enveloping one of the weapon bearers in a thick layer of crystal. ‘That's one down...’ he pulled out yet another bottle, but before he could fling it, Dorin raised his arm once more.
The ground spiked out and rushed towards the captured attackers crushing the crystal into pieces. Blood splattered on the earthen alcove covering them.
The other two ran in opposite directions, but the spikes split as well and went after them. One climbed up a tall tree which shook as the spikes nearly lifted it out of the ground. The other one ran some distance before facing the spikes and driving his staff into the ground. He stopped it with an earth attack of his own.
"Burn." said Dorin. The ground around the mage suddenly burst into flames so intense that the remaining earth spikes began to glow.
The attacker stepped back from the inferno, moving his staff in an arc, covering himself in a protective shield.
[He is a fire mage himself.] Seb wrote. [Be alert—] something suddenly hit him from the side. One of the attackers, his wounded body still encased in the crystals, have aimed his weapon at them, but he only got their legs. Seb's right leg was enclosed in the elastic band, together with Dorin's left leg.
"Sorry, I couldn't stop it soon enough." said Dorin. He gave a whistle and sent a miniature twister towards the prone man, but before it could make much damage, Seb faced him, shaking him with his good arm.
[Don't kill him!] he hissed, the words on his slate in bold red letters.
"Why not?!" Dorin asked, surprised.
[We do not kill people] the other wrote.
"Again I ask, why?!" frowned Dorin. He raised his free hand as another band was aimed at them. The elastic went hurling back at the one who shot it, tying the attacker to the tree he was perched on.
[It is bad to kill people! Plus it's against the law! And besides we can question them and...]
"Only one is needed for questioning," said Dorin matter of factly, "And I saved the best for that purpose."
Saying that, he swiped his arm down. The raised alcove broke in half, exposing the mage with the staff behind it. He looked at Dorin, then at his 2 fallen companions before running away.
"Is that all you've got?" asked a disappointed Dorin. "Bowl." said he.
Dew from the surrounding plants gathered around the fleeing mage, then from the ground sprung out a fountain of water, enveloping him in a ball. The mage tried to escape, but the ball collapsed upon itself, making him flail in the liquid cage. He raised his dark staff, the tip igniting. The water began to boil, steam rising up. Dorin snorted and blew at the ball's direction. The surface of the ball cracked as frost covered it, the water turning to ice.
[Dorin, don't kill him!] Sebastian reminded his companion, waving the slate in front of his face.
"Don't worry. All he needs to speak is his head."
The mage struggled to no avail. the water around him hardened, his arms and legs unable to move. The bubble opened around his face, hardening around his neck into sharp jagged spikes.
"Now speak." said Dorin. "Who are you?"
The mage kept silent. "Speak or I will decapitate you." Upon saying this, the spikes around the man's head slowly got longer.
Seb shook his arm from beside him.
"Okay, I guess an ear or an eye would suffice..." a sharp spike of ice materialised right in front of the mage's masked face, aiming at an eye, but then, it suddenly shattered.
Seb looked behind them just in time to see a figure drop out from nowhere. Masked like the others, this one was not carrying any weapons. He swiped at Seb who was too slow to react, hitting him full on the chest.
He fell from the force, his breath knocked out of him.
Dorin braced himself against Seb’s weight as the leather encasing their legs unbalanced him. The masked man took this opportunity to aim a roundhouse kick at his face. Dorin defended with his right arm, a shield of ice covering Seb in the process, then countered with a left hook.
It never connected as the assailant flipped backwards and squat low, then swiped at the two whose legs were still tied together. Dorin cursed as they fell on their backs. His arms raised to guard against a drop kick.
‘This is a bad position, I need to stand up.’ he thought, ‘But I need to protect Seb too...’ then at the back of his mind, he thought, ‘Why do I need to protect him? He would only pull me down...’ The masked man aimed another kick before Dorin could get up. He grabbed the leg and pulled.
‘I need to help him because he is tied to me,’ he reasoned to himself as he twisted the leg into a submissive hold and heard the bone snap. The assailant screamed in pain.
"Seb, are you okay?" he asked his companion who was still clutching his chest, whizzing. Seb looked at him, his glasses have fallen off. His lilac eyes filled with pain. "We're making a run for it, you ready?"
Before Seb could reply, Dorin gave two sharp whistles and raised himself. A strong gust of wind picked them up and flew them into the night sky. Dorin thought of going back to the dorms, but the limited space would be troublesome to fight in, so he headed deeper into the woods instead. They sped over the tops of the pine trees and landed on the nearest clearing he could find.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked Seb.
[...been better...] the other replied, the small words, written on the slab around his neck. He was still breathing hard while a trickle of blood trailed down his mouth.
"Do you know how to cut this... film?" Dorin pointed at the elastic band that was still tying them together.
[It's magic resistant.] read the slab, [used to detain rogue mages. Only a releasing spell from the shooter can remove it...]
"Damn, and I left him tied to that tree..."
[Good thing you didn't kill him.] Seb wrote.
"We have no choice then," Dorin touched the film and closed his eyes. "It will take some time... but I think I can break it."
He saw the magical thread in his mind's eye and touched a knot. "Watch my back," he told his friend.
[Easy for you to say!] exclaimed Seb’s words. He still couldn't breath well. His chest hurt and he could hardly move, as if all the strength was drained from his body. He have never been in a real fight before, and being a scholar, he hardly ever got physical and had no idea how bad it felt to be hit, much less, attacked violently by an unknown assailant who probably wanted them dead.
He looked around at the clearing, staring at the shadows, making sure that they would not be taken unawares once again.
He was ready when the footsteps came closer, the rushing sound of more than 1 pair of feet.
There were more of them now, five... seven... eight people, from what he can sense. They surround the small clearing, taking their distance, cautious of them now. One came closer, another staff wielder, this one of hawthorn, the contradictory wood of healing and curses.
"Dorin Silvius" said Hawthorn staff, "come with us."
Dorin kept his eyes closed, his head bowed down, deep in concentration.
"Come peacefully and we promise the safety of your companion."
Dorin still would not reply. The man took another step, but refused to come any closer.
"We have seen how capable you are, and how much you could be of service to the empire," Hawtorn continued, "Do not waste your talents in this school."
"If that was all you wanted, then what was that attack all about?" Dorin finally spoke, his head still down.
"Think of it as a test... an 'initiation' before we make you one of us."
"What makes you think I want to be one of you?" Dorin replied, looking up, his eyes glowing golden in the dark woods.
Dorin’s fingers seemed to pull at something on the elastic harness binding him to Seb. A seam appeared on the band and he was finally able to tear himself free.
Hawthorn stepped back and brandished his staff, but Dorin was too quick. With a single movement, he raised his right arm, at the same time, flinging his left at the direction of the hawthorn mage. The earth opened and swallowed Sebastian, acting as a safe fortress, while an electrical wave surged towards their attackers.
"I have no plan to come with you,” he said, “in fact, I never planned to stay in this university in the 1st place."
Dorin held his hands, palms facing each other, electricity cursing in between. Over head the clouds swirl, lightning illuminating the woods. He pulled his hands apart and flicked his fingers, striking down his attackers with deadly accuracy.
But Hawthorn staff was ready, an earth shield was placed on his companions, though most were struck down, they merely groaned and were spared from being electrocuted. The mage then raised his staff once more and said strange words into the air.
Dorin's eyes widen as he recognized the words.
"A summoning spell!" he gasped.
The ground around them shook as golems with flaming eyes emerged from the earth. They rushed at Dorin, their rocky arms outstretched, trying to catch him in their deadly grip. Dorin glided in the air, his lightning dancing around him, striking at the golems whose chunks fell and returned to the earth, but even without limbs, they continue to chase him, standing on top of the other to reach his height.
Dorin flew away from the center of the clearing, away from the mound that contained Sebastian, and going round, dived for the Hawthorn mage, a glowing sword of pure lightning in his hand.