Plans and Squabbles

Germo began explaining his approach to battling the mage when the team members were all seated on stone slabs conjured by Brick and Ren and had several barriers setup.

He assumed the mage wouldn't be alone and predicted at least one blood beast that the team would have to face. So, they'll divide the red hornet into three teams.

The first will confront the mage, the second will face the mage's forces, and the third will depart from the second after the majority of the forces have been handled. After the third team leaves, the second is to return to the first team to lend a hand in battling the mage. There was talk of specifics that better utilized the information Seth provided in detail, but Germo kept it brief, opting to better explain after they'd run drills.

While the plan seemed reasonable enough, Seth still raised a hand in question. He found the plan too limiting. Certainly, there were contingencies and alternatives.

Germo lips slightly curled in admiration of the youth's persistence and caution. It reminded him of himself in his younger days- days when he thought he was the cleverest man in the room. He kept secrets from those who cared about him and was far weaker than he realized.

Teaching Seth to harness the bow's power could help him cast spells faster and increase his accuracy and strength- overall, making him a better mage- but to what end. Without a powerful, elemental conduit that he could publicly use, he was going to be stuck a borderlander, at least, until he turned him in.

Though the boy tried to be sly about it, he possessed the dark gift. Earlier that morning, he spied him weaving the nefarious matter.

As soon as the mission was done, Germo had decided to turn him into the Imperial knights on present at the collection zone. But that was if they lived through the confrontation with the mage.

His fist clenched. It was his duty to preserve the lives of the members of the Red Hornet. Protecting a darkness mage any longer than he had to wound undermine that mission. It was better he reported it and reaped the benefit than some nosy righteous Knight. He loosened his fist, and his face eased before he answered the youth.

Germo addressed his concerns by sharing a few of his contingencies. Some had the entire team focus on the minions first. Others were even bolder: striking deals with larger guilds to defeat the mage only to betray them after, or tracking down exhausted guilds and teams and robbing them. The plan numbered in the dozens.

'The man must have been up all night thinking about these plays and counter plays." Listening to Germo speak sparked newfound respect for the man. He understood why they all followed him. Despite his flaws, his leadership was sound.

"Are you satisfied, or do you still doubt our fearless leader," Brick mocked. The rest of the team laughed, and Seth's reddened as he lowered his hands in embarrassment.

"Don't tease the boy too hard. He's a greenhorn." Ren giggled.

"Oh please, he's been in the borderland for years. Didn't they teach you a thing or two about structure and respect," Brick sneered.

"They did. And they also taught me about honor and respect for the common folk," Seth bit back. "Something you clearly forgot all about when you destroyed half of Acerno trying to capture me for a stupid trust test!" he heaved. With the event of the previous day still fresh in his mind, he found it hard to hold his tongue.

Brick scrunched his face in rage, "You should know when to hold your tongue, boy." He shot out of his chair, reaching for Seth, but before he struck, a short murmur escaped Germo's lips, and a wall of scorching flame cut Brick off. It separated both men, further scarring the soot caked tiled floors of the training field.

With red glowing eyes and a voice that made Seth's hair stand on end, Germo commanded, "Get back in your seat." His eyes shot in Seth's direction, "both of you." Seth looked down to find that he'd instinctively motioned to protect himself. With one arm wrapped around the hilt of his dagger, he was rearing to pounce. He loosened his grip and his muscles and sat back on the stone slab.

"The little one's strength is not the only thing interesting about him," Ren grinned helplessly, her eyes slowly searching Seth.

With a wave of Germo's hands, the wall of flame petered out. "Brick excitement cost the people of Acerno their homes. I'll be sure to have him compensate those affected by our little test." He said with a glare directed at Brick.

With the matter settled, Germo assigned the seated mages into the three teams. Blood magic is a lost magic based on water, so Germo, Sera, and Raylee were to make up first team. The two lesser mage's magic elements were perfect counters, and Sera could buff them both with spells and run interference; after all, she was an adept.

The second team consisted of Tula, Ren, Brick, and Seth, with Tula's position in the team tentative. She would switch teams if any member was injured, and the rest would protect her while she drew magic from life around her and treated the wounded mage. And the third team consisting of Seth and Brick were to break off and carry out their mission after they've dealt with a majority of the enemy's forces.

Germo went over the plan one more time for good measure before moving on to the formation drills and training they'd planned for the day. Since they were short on time, they had only a few hours to familiarize themselves with the positions they'd be assuming in their respective sub-teams and their larger team as a whole.

The spell combinations and battle formations weren't strange to them. It was only a matter of remembering and practicing drills that each of them had run hundreds of times. They found a position for Seth, who, along with Germo, was their second archer. Since his skill and strength were no longer secrets, he saw no reason not to fight as well as he could. Though his skill paled in comparison to the leader and Ranger, it was not as bad as he led them to believe.

The tense relationship between Germo and Seth only allowed him a nod at the sight of the youth's skill, though Seth imagined if they were on better terms, his words would have been along the lines of 'I oughta smack you for not showing me sooner, but now that I know everything, I understand.'

Seth dismissed his wistful thoughts as he summoned another arrow from his dimensional ring and let it loose on the imaginary enemy in front of him. Raylee cast an Ice field, which Germo followed with a fire wave before Brick piled on with a tremor spell and then finishing up with an earthen wall.

With primary defense established, Ren fired off multiple high velocities hardened stones into the mist, guided by Brick's sensory abilities. According to Sera, the formation blinds the targets, burns them, destabilizes them before rending them with earthen attacks they can barely sense coming. If they managed to survive the combo, then they typically finished everything off with a powerful combination spell of fire and wind.

Seth couldn't help but marvel at their efficiency, cooperation, and power. He was once again reminded of how little he knew about mages and their combat styles. Pitted against the finest knights of Brightmont, he was sure they'd be able to hold their own against a team of 1st class junior knights. As for intermediates, he couldn't really say.

They must have run hundreds of team formations before splitting off into individual teams. Seth and Brick practiced formations with surprising no enmity between them, at first. After breezing through the basic formations, they moved on to spelled combat, and as predicted, Seth fell behind, not only in speed but in coordination, penetration, and accuracy.

Several times he wanted to tackle the lanky borderlander and snap him in half, but a glare from Ren or Germo prevented him. But after the umpteenth mistake, he bubbled over and raged, "If you keep swinging your sword like that, I'll kill you."

His voice drew the attention of Germo, Ren, Raylee, and the rest of the team. Germo raised his voice to stop them, but before he could get out a word, Seth already snapped back.