This choice: It was, it was someone from the Lycian Army. • Go Back... Soon, Elen could hear faint sounds. She rose, trying to discern from which direction they came from. Though sounding distant, due to her size she had to remind herself that they could be much closer. They vaguely sounded like yelling, and that of magic. A battle had to be occurring nearby. Eventually they ceased, a yell being the last thing she heard. That clearly meant it was over; but who won she could only wonder about. Just then, a figure began to show up in the distance, in the direction she had come from. It grew quickly as it rapidly approached, though Elen knew that was only to her shrunken perspective. As such, se quickly saw it belonged to Sophia, a shaman priestess from the Misul peninsula.
Praise Saint Elimine! Elen joined her hands again, as she felt a wave of relief.
Sophia had been one of the most recent recruits of the Lycian Army, rescued from Bernese troops, who were on Misul with the intent to attack her hometown, Arcadia. Despite being adept with elder, or dark, magic, perhaps her most defining feature was being half-human, half-dragon. Something not uncommon in Arcadia, as well as housing actual dragons; and not least, one of the Divine Weapons, which was the reason Bern sought to invade them. In any case, the sight of an ally was a welcoming one to Elen.
Despite so, she couldn’t help but let a bit of wariness creep up on her. While Sophia was around a century old, as dragons and half-dragons aged much slower than humans, she still only looked like a young teenager. Yet, she would still tower over Elen once she got near enough. A thought that, despite knowing Sophia would mean no harm, still made her uncomfortable. Still, she held her ground, despite trembling slightly. She had to make herself known, after all.
For her part, Sophia had gotten lost within the tower as well. As luck would have it, or perhaps fate guiding her, she had ended near the corridor Elen was in. There was a rebel soldier she felled with her magic, near the junction. It was when she decided to investigate the corridor. She took quick notice of the staff lying on the floor, near the far end.
Is that… Elen’s staff? Sophia thought.
She had seen the cleric enough times to recognize it. Confusion took hold of her. It was strange for the staff to just be there, lying on the floor, with no sign of Elen in sight. She couldn’t have been taken captive, else the staff would’ve been taken as well. She didn’t think either she had deliberately dropped it. Regardless, she figured she should pick it up; and return it to Elen, wherever she may be.
Once she had gotten near enough, something caught her eyes. A small white figure, near the staff’s orb. It stood out, between the blue of the orb and the yellow of the floor. Imagine her surprise once she got before the staff, to see the small figure was Elen herself!
“Elen…?” Sophia asked, as she got on her knees to get a closer look.
It was perhaps fortunate for Elen that Sophia was always a soft-spoken one, else it would’ve come too loud for her small ears. It helped to calm her down at dealing with someone who, while not really a giant, was one to her perspective. Stranger or not.
“Yes, it’s me!” She squeaked out, getting a bit startled afterwards. As the first time she had the need to talk after getting shrunk, it caught her off guard at how high-pitched it came out.
“What… happened to you…?” Sophia asked.
“The arrows,” Elen replied. “I was hit by one; and now I’m like this.”
“Strange…” Sophia noted. “We were not told… they could do that.”
“I know, I found it strange too,” Elen stated. “The rebels must’ve modified them, somehow.”
“I see,” Sophia said. “That makes them… much more… dangerous.”
“We must get away from here!” Elen exclaimed. “This is one corridor they can strike through!”
“I see,” Sophia nodded in understanding, before lowering her left hand to the floor before the cleric. “Come… I’ll carry you.”
With a bit of hesitation, Elen approached the outstretched hand, and climbed up. Being soft skin, Elen wobbled a bit, trying to keep her balance. Sophia then curled up her fingers slightly, and Elen opted to sit down.
“Don’t forget my staff,” Elen said.
“Right,” Sophia then used her other hand to grab the staff. Though already carrying a spell tome, the staff itself was thin enough the shaman had little trouble in grabbing it. She just had to pass her fingers through the little space under the wood raised due to the orb. Sophia stood back up, Elen on one hand, and her tome and the cleric’s staff in the other.
“We must get out here quick,” Elen said. “Let’s leave the corridor from this side.”
“Very well,” Sophia then made her way to the corner end.
I hope we are still on time, Elen thought, safely nested on Sophia’s hand.
However, what Elen ignored was that an arrow was going to form before Sophia made it to the corner. The unspoken question was then: Would Sophia have the reaction time to dodge it, or be struck by it?  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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