Chapter 247: The Price of Victory (2/2)
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Subject to an attack they could neither defend against, nor avoid. The members of the coalition army had been forced to wait in impotence as the Dragonknight once again forestalled their deaths with his magical might. Then came the word, that the enemy would soon become vulnerable, and that every mage should be prepared to unleash their own counter attacks once the shield fell.
Suddenly, the mood changed. The prospect of getting revenge, no matter how minor, energized the flagging, desperate soldiers. For the first time since the arrival of that horrible bird swarm, they felt like they had some say in their own destines. That they contribute to the destruction of the hated Lacotians and their abominable minions.
So, when the Furies manifested and the shield fell, the allied mages unleashed the pent up helpless and rage that had been building over the weeks, as their lives and livelihoods were repeatedly threatened with destruction by a series of hostile invaders.
In that brief moment, unified in purpose if not in effect, the hundreds of mages of the coalition army channeled that anger and directed it skywards in a wave of magical destruction.
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Mike was forced to avert his eyes as the sky seemingly exploded in a dizzying of array of magical attacks. He stumbled, half blinded, over to Tal while trying his best to keep an eye out for any Fury which managed to survive the barrage.
Thankfully, it seemed like the coalition mages had pulled out all the stops, so he was able to reach his companion without difficulty.
By this point, Tal had collapsed onto her side, and was breathing shallowly. Even her normally emotionless expression did little to disguise the agony she was clearly experiencing. He fell down beside her, and tried to use his Healing Magic to help, but found himself unable to do much more than treat her basic symptoms. The underlying cause of her distress seemed to arise from somewhere he couldn't effectively reach.
”Are you alright?” He asked dumbly, distress making his voice shake slightly. ”Is there anything I can do to help?”
Tal looked up at him, and placed a hand on the side of his face. She whispered in a voice that was just barely audible over the sounds of the magical storm of energy taking place above them. ”Don't worry. Just need rest.”
Perhaps sensing that her part in this fight was now over, she relaxed and slipped into unconsciousness. Carefully, he gathered her up in his arms and carried her towards the keep, where they had set up the infirmary. He pointedly ignored Johnathan's apologetic gaze as he walked past his teacher, and only dimly noted the cheers and cries of celebration that rose from the troops who were no longer subjected to the esoteric threat of the Furies.
Once in the keep, he placed Tal in an open bed, and sent a mental message to Red. He instructed him to track down Sera and get her to come here. Something that would have normally earned him a sniff of mental indifference, but the dragon was strangely accommodating, promising to see to it quickly.
Sitting in a nearby chair, he took a moment to evaluate the situation. His anger had cooled for the most part, but it lingered just below the surface of his mind, waiting to erupt at the right moment.
Intellectually, he could understand Johnathan's methods. If he looked at it objectively, his teacher had succeeded in dealing with the threat with the fewest possible casualties. Indeed, this could be considered a great victory over a foe that had the potential to destroy them all. Yet, he couldn't help but feel a little betrayed.
[It would have been one thing if Johnathan had used me to do this. I could forgive him for that, but to make Tal sacrifice herself like this...I don't know.]
This wasn't the first time one of his 'allies' had put him or his friends into a position of danger for their own benefit, and he could be fairly certain that, so long as he remained in this country, it wouldn't be the last. Indeed, he'd often gone along with it. Only this time Tal had been the one to pay the price.
[I had been thinking about doing some traveling once this war was over, assuming it came to a satisfactory end. Now, however, I think I'll be leaving regardless of the circumstances. I've become too entangled in things here, and its causing problems for those closest to me.]
Although Mike knew that he probably couldn't run away from these sorts of situations forever, since his luck seemed bound and determined to have him intermingle with powerful people and important events, he figured he could at least take a break from all of this nonsense for a while.
[Tal said her master was in the River Kingdoms. I don't know much about the area, but it seems like a good place to start.]
Sera burst into the room, breathless from the run. ”I came as soon as I could. What's the emergency?”
Mike stood and walked over to her. ”I need you to stay here and watch over Tal.”
He stopped when he reached her, and pulled Audra out of his pocket.
”Now that I think about it, do me a favor and keep an eye on this one too. It will be dangerous for her to come along with me.” He asked while handing the squirming and squawking dragon over.
Sera struggled to hold onto the familiar, who was protesting the separation vehemently, but had the presence of mind to look back at him and ask, ”Wait, where are you going?”
As he passed through the door, he simply stated. ”I think its time we put an end to this war.”