Divine Journey

Despite Fang and Bay's fears, nothing happened that could harm their health. In fact, nothing happened at all, and only over time did the smoke dissipate. When they looked into the chest, they saw several precious stones (two rubies and sapphires) inside, large and flawless, cut in the shape of a triangle. Finally, the centuries-long wait for the stones was over, and they had new owners. Faëlvir and Lindeskar finished their preparations just in time: the sounds of battle horns throughout the city heralded the start of another battle. The elf, hesitantly, said goodbye to his friend and followed the archers who had run past them. They were all heading towards the eastern wall. When Lindeskar climbed the steps, he was overcome with horror - huge hordes of warriors from the Kingdom of Xia blocked out the entire horizon with their silhouettes. Undoubtedly, the fortress gave the defenders an advantage, as did the enemy's disorganization, but the numerical superiority was not on their side. The infantry began to advance rapidly, directing siege towers towards the walls and a battering ram towards the gate. And when they were within firing range, Lindeskar hesitated even more. He had never killed anyone and didn't want to, but he saw the people standing next to him performing their duty without a shadow of a doubt, and then he realized that he had no other choice, and running away wouldn't work either. Drawing the string of his new bow and gathering all his will, the elf made his first kill - a man, whose head was hit by an arrow, fell dead to the ground. As the siege structures began to approach the city walls, the imperial infantry came out to clash with the invaders. Swords pierced bare flesh, and within ten minutes, the ground was stained red. Among all this carnage, the squad of imperial jaggernaut defenders stood out the most; they cut through the crowds of people like a razor. And their leader, whose name neither Lindeskar nor Faëlvir knew, parried attacks with a huge scutum and brought down another enemy with each swing of his bastard sword. By the end of the battle, at least half of the archers and almost all of the infantry had perished, but the attack was still repelled. The elves, exhausted both morally and physically, met after the battle in the place where they had parted and shared their impressions. Faëlvir helped many soldiers stay in formation, saving many from death; however, only suspicious herbs and mana restoration potions helped him maintain his magical energy for long enough, and Lindeskar counted 21 people he had killed. (Lindeskar gains +1 intelligence, +1 dexterity, +1 constitution) The guard carefully examines Heimyr, and then gestures for him to follow. When he enters the luxurious apartments, the tan man says in a rough, loud voice: - My dear, it's your turn. Heavy footsteps are heard, and then a Hydra enters the hall... The same one he saw in the swamp, but with the difference that each of its heads was familiar to Heimyr - each belonged to one of his new friends. Nokou, Alko, Mathias, Reynold, Anpeitu, Kerlian, Anter, May A'aren Kard - they were all here. The group reached their destination without any particular problems - they did not encounter anyone on their way, only a handful of ashes blocking the doorway. Before entering, Florian Assange warned them that they would not be able to cast spells. The door opened, and they entered. The first thing that caught the eye was four bodies chained to a stone slab - these were Heimyr, Hostor, Reynold, and Siegfried, as well as Morgan, lying on one of the beds, completely immobilized. The jailers immediately became alert, and the torturer prepared to incinerate someone else, but this time he failed: the hunter's right hand was engulfed in blue flames, and when his palms touched, it was as if life was drained from the entire room - everything faded, everything fell silent. The mage's hands, instead of a stream of electrical energy, produced only a few sparks. Mostly, only the armed ones fought - Alko and Florian, but each of their blows was fatal to the defenseless jailers. However, they also missed a couple of blows. When the battle was over, the hunter ran up to the retreating torturer and alternately chopped off both of his wrists. Then he made some kind of gesture, after which the usual colors and sounds returned to their places. - Now he won't be able to use magic, - said Florian, addressing the group, - but he is alive, I think you have many questions for him.