The wind pelted against Riley’s chest as he and Alex slowly trudged through two inches of snow that blanketed the ground around them for what felt like miles. They barely had an idea of where they were going, since the blizzard made it near impossible to see. They were both tough, so they could handle the icy wind that tried to rip them to shreds with every gust. Riley thought that they were going the wrong way, but the silhouettes of the mining town of Holstur began to appear in the distance. Only miners would be crazy enough to live out here. Although after Alex confirmed his suspicions of the snowstorm being conjured by a Wizard, it made him think that a blizzard of this size was a first for the citizens as well. How were they going to get all of them out safely in this? He didn’t know the answer, and before he could ask Alex the figures of a large army of men dressed in armour walked towards them.
“It’s the Rune Knights.” Their armour was similar to what Mary usually wore, except hers no longer had their crest magically imprinted on its breastplate. However, when the group got closer he started to notice differences in their armour. The Rune Knights didn’t wear large shoulder guards, and their armour was silver, not grey. He also noticed the strange animal horns that were attached to their helms.
“All intruders must surrender and die.” A soft voice spoke from behind them, a young girls voice. The whole thing confused Riley, but he didn’t have time to think as the strange figures bombarded Alex and Riley with an array of different magic.
Thanks to some quick thinking and movements by Alex, the two of them were able to escape the group of mages.
“This mission just got a whole of a lot harder.” Riley stood up from the hiding spot and stared at Alex. “Hey, you’re a pretty strong wizard. Think you can keep them busy while I go and search for the Rune Knights and the villagers?” The two agreed on the plan, and Riley bolted off from their spot and ran as fast as he could. The magical storm that they had been in seemed to have an eye, focussed around Holstur, so he could at least see where he was going. He managed to slip past the group of wizards and entered the barren village. He ran to the city square, the strange quietness of the village giving him the creeps. Upon entering the village square, he was left to witness a horrifying sight. He probably would have thrown up, if he hadn’t seen it before. The markings on the ground, the bodies placed at key positions to form a giant magic circle. If Yukiko hadn’t stepped in all those years ago, this would be his fate. The idea that these dark rituals were still being held made his blood boil, and even when an armed wizard approached him with the intent to kill him, he didn’t hesitate to quickly swipe his blade through the air in an upwards arc. The man managed to step back in time.
“Nice try kid, but that sword of yours can’t pierce my armo-” He stopped mid sentence, watching as his armour fell off of him piece by piece. He opened his mouth to call for backup, but he was quickly met with a left hook across the face from Riley, followed by a knee straight to his gut.
“Who the hell are you people?! Talk or I’ll gut you like a fish!” He yelled, demanding answers from the Wizard. He looked back at the various bodies scattered across the town square. There were many childre amongst them. Even a few newborns. He bit his lip to stop himself from screaming, his fists clenched tightly around the guards neck. “I’ll kill you, you monster!”
He watched as the colour began to drain from the struggling guards face, and seeing that look of pain twisted across his face reminded him of his parents and the way those Dark Wizards had killed them. He barely remembered their names or their faces, he only remembered the day they died. He released the man, who fell to the ground coughing and grasping for breathe. He quickly ran away, when the sound of footsteps behind him brought his attention a young woman only a few years younger than him.
“Are you… a survivor?” His eyes widened in shock. She was beautiful. Her long, ginger hair curled down her shoulders to her waist, and her face was petite and light. She wore a strange, Victorian style dress with white lace. She stared at him with a disinterested expression, raising her palms to face him.
“Begone, intruder.” A large, black Magic Circle materialised above Riley, scanning him up and down. Her power was insane, he’d never even felt this kind of magic pressure from Yukiko. Just the force of it kept his body locked in place. “On second thought, stay.” She had the same voice as before, the girl who was issuing commands to the Dark Wizards.
“You’ll miss the big show if I kill you, and you came all this way. Let me give you a front row seat, I’m sure Lilith will love your company.” She clicked her fingers, and another magic circle appeared beneath him. The ground bubbled with a black sludge, which latched onto his legs and began to pull him into the ground. He cried out for help, tried to resist, but nothing stopped him from being dragged under.
A few moments later he awoke on some strange, cold place. Below him he saw Holstur. She had teleported him to Mount Hakobe. There were so many dangerous animals on this mountain, and not to mention this ‘Lilith’ person the girl had mentioned. He couldn’t just sit around, so he decided to make his way back down the slippery mountain slopes.
Mary was already in the Soul Mountains, still wearing her sundress. She’d decided against wearing her armour at the very last minute, so she had a head start with picking flowers. She had already filled two baskets full of wildflowers when James and Aero began to make their way to her.
“Oh, hello you two.” She wrapped her arms around the two of them, pulling them together into a tight embrace. “I’m so sorry about storming out earlier, I guess you could say I wasn’t feeling the best.” The field around them were beautiful. The Soul Mountain pass was a popular tourist destination once, until bandit activity started to grow there. Now it was just a travel pass from Magnolia to the next town over; Haven. The Soul Mountains were a beautiful slate gray colour, and the large patches of wildflowers that were scatted throughout the pass were truly a sight to behold.
“Come on you two, we need to fill up 20 baskets each to meet our quota.”