Chapter 6 - Surprise

They had only a few minutes before the enemy was upon them. They quickly ran for the stone pillars. It looked only to be a few of them, but when they got closer, the stone pillars seemed to be overlooking a ravine.

"Down there!" Siem ordered. "We will lose them there."

Jens saw the ravine go deeper, the more it progressed. From up there he could see there were several forks with more paths. It was like a maze.

He went down the ravine. It was a small drop. Rock sat on the ledge and jumped down, where Jens helped him. Siem quickly jumped after them.

Siem led them through the maze and Jens walked behind him with Rock. The path was wide enough for five people to walk along each other. At the first fork, they turned right, out of view of their pursuers.

The path was getting smaller and Jens had to let Rock go behind Siem.

Another fork was ahead of them. There were five different paths. Without hesitation Siem went for the most right path. Behind them they overheard their pursuers curse.

Soon enough their path reached a dead end.

"Go back! Quickly!" Siem said hurried. Jens turned around and moved back. He looked around the corned and two soldiers were running towards them, side by side.

"Enemies!" He shouted while he pulled his sword free of its scabbard. He waited for them.

"Rock, go!" He said. Rock was hesitating behind him.

"Go, we will catch up!" He heard Siem say behind him. He then stood beside him with his broken sword.

Rock hesitated. He knew he couldn't survive alone. He pulled the axe from his waist and held it in one hand. He stood behind his friends waiting.

The soldiers rushed toward them. Jens focused on the person on the right. The soldier came towards him with a hacking motion. He parried the attack, pushed forward and smashed his shoulder into the man's chest. He fell back, gasping for breath. Jens quickly stabbed him in the heart. It was a textbook move, just like he had done a hundred times during training.

He looked back at Siem who had a harder time. He was being pushed back towards Rock.

Rock! Why didn't he leave?! Jens rushed back but at that moment Rock stepped forward and with a diagonal slash the axehead hit the arm of the enemy. The enemy dropped his weapon and Siem quickly jumped forward to stab him.

Jens was glad they had managed to survive this fight without any added injuries. He heard more shouting from behind him and noticed even more soldiers heading their way.

"Keep going!" He rushed Siem and Rock.

They kept running and running, chosing paths at random. Eventually they turned a corner and reached another dead end.

Rock looked horrified. "Go back quickly!"

Jens turned the corner again and saw that the enemy had them blocked now. There was not a different path to take anymore. He quickly hid around the corner again. He looked at Siem's questioning face.

"They have us blocked."

Siem overtook Jens and casted a ball of fire and threw it while screaming angrily. Jens peaked around the corned and watched how the fireball exploded on a shield. They both hid behind the corner again.

"What do we do now?" Jens asked panicked. Rock walked passed them and quickly jumped back again. A fireball exploded on the wall. Some of the fire splashed against them.

Jens hurried to pat a spot on his shirt.

Rock tried again and casted something as well, that Jens didn't see.

Jens looked up to see if they could climb out. The walls looked smooth. There was no way they could climb if there was nothing to grab hold of.

Rock leaned against the wall. "We have to figure out what to do."

"What can we do?" Siem shouted. "We fight or die here. This will be our last stand."

He peeked around the corner and threw another fireball. Rock stepped up after him and also casted something.

Jens thought of something. Rock had the earth element. "Rock! Can you create holes in the wall to climb?"

Rock looked at the wall and rushed towards Jens. Siem took his place again and tried to keep the enemy away with a fireball.

Rock obviously tried to cast but unfortunately nothing happened.

"It's to hard. I can't." He confessed. "I'm not strong enough."

Siem was thinking. What could they do. He watched how Rock and Siem were taking turns. In between, magic attacks rained down on the wall where they had been a moment before.

Climbing was not possible. Fight their way out wasn't possible. From what he had seen, they were heavily outnumbered. They were lucky to have survive the battlefield. After that, again at the farm and the creatures as well. Their luck had to end sometimes. He had made friends for life with both Rock and Siem. Overcoming such obstacles did that. He would die with them. He would be content with that.

Or so he thought for a second. "No!" He said determined. Something snapped inside of him. He felt a strange sensation. Something had unlocked within him. His instinct was telling him he could survive this. It was possible if he would cast. He focused his mana and tried to cast. A purple light could be seen in front of him. He focused all the mana he could handle on it. The purple light turned into a line the size of his lower arm. Then the line expanded.

Siem noticed what was happening. He looked shocked at Jens. "What are you doing? The fight is here!"

Jens couldn't keep his eyes of the purple shape. "I don't know!" He shouted. "It just happened."

It shaped into some sort of vertical disc. But with flowing edges. The surface also looked like a purple ocean with waves running vertically.

Siem suddenly pushed his sword in. Jens was shocked. He felt relieved it didn't explode.

Siem pulled his sword free from it.

He looked surprised for an instant, and then was about to push his hand trough.

Jens understood what he was going to do. "Don't!". He yelled afraid, but he was to late. Siem pulled his hand out again and looked amazed.

"It's some kind of portal!" He looked with wide eyes at Jens. "Make it bigger! We can't escape trough this."

"I can't!" Jens screamed ashamed.

"This is our way out! You figure it out!"

Siem quickly moved to help Rock.

Jens felt his mana getting drained. He couldn't keep this up. He picked a hand full of mana stones and started absorbing them. The amount of mana that entered his body was excruciating. He knew he had to hold on, if he wanted to live. He endured the pain and kept focusing on the portal. Bit by bit it increased in size until it was the size his arm.

It was big enough to go through now.

"GOOO!" He shouted. He noticed how Rock was being pushed by Siem. Rock disappeared into the portal completely. Siem followed quickly.

Jens was getting dizzy by now because of the agonizing pain. He forced himself to walk forward and enter the portal.