Backfire

I closed my eyes, waiting for the fire that the god just spoked of. I took a few deep breaths while I still could, calming myself down before the test itself... But it only made it worse, as I was caught off guard in the middle of breathing in by the sensation of fire burning my skin.

The pain was very strong and my leg wasn't helping me in any way, making me fall on one knee and almost fall from the small rock I was standing... It's a wonder how there's space for me to stay on one knee, though. However, it wasn't a fire that was going to stop me now, I have already entered a town in flames, after all... So I stood up, fists closed while I resisted the pain...

It took a few more seconds or maybe a whole minute, but soon the fire disappeared... The painful sensation I had, both on my leg from the axe wound of before and the burning sensation on my skin, was suddenly gone. It was as if nothing had ever happened to me, but what actually happened is that Fire healed me after the test.

"You passed the last test, congratulation... Now, handle me the bottle, I shall give what you have sought until now", he said, and immediately after, Jeffrey threw the bottle made from Water's ice to the god.

It looked impossible, the god made of magma was holding the frozen bottle while nothing happened to it. With a simple gesture, he got his element from deep within the magma lake around his rock platform... When it was ready, he gave me back the bottle, which was unchanged in appearance but the content of it was shinning... As if there was a small star inside it now, the mix of the four elements.

"Take good care of it, Dagger. I am sure you don't want to go through all you did again, do you?"

"I will take care of it, don't worry", I answered the god while slightly smiling in accomplishment... Fire, on the other hand, might not have heard, as he had already walked to inside the magma lake and became one with it.

"Well... We did it, Dagger", Jeffrey celebrated and I smiled at him as thanks for him as we walked up the ramp, out of the Fire's lair. The criminal curiously took a peek over my shoulder, looking at the bottle.

"Can I take a look at it?", he suddenly asked... I wonder why he's so interested in it, but I just did it, turning around and holding the bottle for him to better see, but skeptically holding it a little away from him...

Suddenly he smiled... I thought he was happy to have helped us, even if just a little... But I was right to be skeptical about him, he had gotten a sharp rock nearby and moved to stab me on the shoulder, but I was faster and moved away, dodging him. Jeffrey crazily attempted to attack him, but the criminal turned around and dared Jeffrey to get closer... But my friend just stepped back...

"I knew we shouldn't trust you...", Jefffrey asked while he proceeded to attack the criminal. He smiled a little and stabbed Jeffrey's hand with the rock. It got through it, it looked quite painful.

"I wonder if you realize, but if I do betray my organization, they will hunt me down and kill me... So I have to keep something to show that I am still loyal to them, maybe even rise on their ranks. And what's better to keep than the bottle that someone who ruined several of my organization's operations was seeking?", he asked us and then gave us no other second, sweeping kicking Jeffrey and making him fall down the ramp a few meters.

I attempted to attack him while he was distracted with Jeffrey, but he was faster, grabbing Beech by the tail and throwing it at me. When I fell on the floor, he stomped on my hand and stole the bottle from my hands, quickly running up the ramp and making his getaway.

"Come back here!", I shouted and attempted to quickly stand up, but he was ready for me, getting the sharp rock that he had gotten and throwing it at me, right in the leg... The rock was really sharp, it easily cut through my skin, and in pain, I couldn't run after him. But priorities first, I headed down the ramp and went to help Jeffrey as well as Beech...

Limping in pain, both from being throw, cut, and falling down a few meters on a ramp, we could only walk slowly, and by the time we were at the top, it was too late... The criminal had gotten on the small boat we had used and headed back to the Waterkill ship...

He seemed injured a bit, he must have hurt himself while running in the narrow path on the outer side of the volcano. Crazily, we attempted to reach the criminal before he could escape, but as said before, it was too late and he already got on the ship, sailing away and alone.

"Well... I guess we told you about trusting him...", Jeffrey said and the fox nodded in agreement. Well, it's true... I guess I am to blame for all of this...

"Either way, it doesn't matter. We can still get it back... You were in that criminal organization before, right? Do you know where he is probably going?", I asked Jeffrey and he put a hand on his chin, thinking.

"Probably to the criminal's fortress..." he said and got the map from the shoulder bag. "It stays... If I am not mistaken... Here, in those plains", he said, pointing back to our continent in a place in the middle of nowhere, with no cities, towns, or villages nearby, not even common routes. It seemed like the ideal place to hide a criminal organization...

"Well, then, we're going there", I said and got the map, examining it more closely and trying to find the best way to go there... And also searching for a city in which we can get a ship. To be very honest, I was a little bit angry and frustrated with this whole situation, so I almost tore the map apart, but luckily, nothing happened with it.

"Wait, I am trying to find the best place to get another-", I said to Beech that suddenly started jumping on my shoulder to get my attention... I wasn't in the best mood right now... But it insisted on jumping and when I looked at it, it pointed to the sky.

"It seems like we were tricked twice... The Roseblood forces do scout this area!", I said and started to run away, in a futile attempt to run away from the infamous pegasus-mounted winged knights of the Roseblood Empire.

To where we could run, I wonder? We were wounded, so running really fast was impossible... No trees could hide us under their shadow, Fire didn't let any life grow here... No caves to seek refuge... And after losing our weapons while fighting against the magma creatures, we couldn't even fight back properly.

I glanced back at the knights once and they were already going for us, diving abruptly with an impressive speed, we didn't even have time to prepare ourselves to at least dodge... With me getting a cut on my back, making me fall on the floor, and Jeffrey getting cut on the arm.

When I looked back at the pegasus squad, they were high on the sky again and dove once more, but one of them was missing. Beech had jumped on this knight's spear and then tried to knock him down... It was a costly mistake, with no one to control the pegasus, they fell down and got wounded. The pegasus, too wounded to stand and fly now, got Beech stuck under itself...

I tried to help Beech, but I only got close to it before being hit on the head, probably with the handle of a spear. Falling on the floor, a little bit dizzy, I only saw the knight and the pegasus over me, with the spear ready to impale me... On the next second, I-