The Summoner's Vendetta (First Draft) (Book Two)

The Search for Eslium

Sin stood within their safehouse's living area and as he did so; his companions stood before him. While their group may not have an official leader, everyone within the room that stood with him; were looking at him as if they expected him to take the lead. Deciding that it would be easier to operate as if he were their leader than expect everyone to weigh in on what they think they should be doing; Sin was soon speaking to those who were gathered before him.

"If we wish to put our plan in raising an army of Mages that will stand against Sten and the Pure Regime, then we will need to find both recruits as well as an ore known as Eslium..." Sin explained to his companions as his eyes glanced over each one of them. Pausing for a short moment to see if any of them would disagree; when he saw that none looked as if they wanted to argue, he continued with his words. "...In hopes of completing both tasks, I believe that we should split up."

Once again, when he came to the end of his words; Sin started to watch his friends once more. This time, just like last; Sin could see that none looked as if they disagreed with what how he wished to put the plan in motion.

Seeing that everything was going smoothly, Sin deemed that it was time for him to give a more detailed version of what he had in mind. "Mita as well as I will go on the search for Eslium, while the rest of you will scout the city in search of potential recruits as well as any intel that you can gather about the situation within..." Sin commanded as he readied himself to go and collect Mita so they could begin their search for Eslium though before he could take a step; one of his companions intervened.

"...if all of us leave the safehouse undefended, then who would watch our prisoner?" Lucius inquired as he pushed himself closer towards Sin.

Upon hearing this question, Sin kept himself quiet so he could run through the possibilities of how he could fix it, so their prisoner wasn't left alone within their safehouse. As the seconds ticked by, Sin eventually came up with a plan that he felt would be the best course of action.

Turning his gaze back to Lucius and his other companions, his voice soon broke out around them once more. "Mita and I will still go on the search for Eslium while Castien and Enmoria will scout the city. The remainder of you will stay here to guard the safehouse and ensure that our prisoner doesn't cause any problems." Sin informed the others when he had finished coming up with the new plan. When he saw that his friends didn't seem to have any issues with his new plan, he started to speak once more. "Lucius. In between guarding the safehouse and the prisoner, I want you to spar with Corina and Sandrin to help ensure that they gain the skills to protect themselves."

Now that everything had been settled, Sin watched as Castien and Enmoria paired up and made their way towards the exit of the safehouse. Taking this as incentive to do the same, Sin motioned for Mita to follow him as he headed for the door as well.

*

After leaving their safehouse, Sin and Mita found themselves standing within a clearing a mile away from the farmhouse that they have taken from the Pure Regime.

As the pair stood there, Sin was keeping his gaze firmly placed upon his companion which allowed him to see that Mita was extremely concentrated on the work that he assigned to her. While Sin knew that he wouldn't enjoy being interrupted if he was doing the same thing, this didn't stop him from feeling the urge to find out how her work was coming along.

Teetering on the edge as he was trying to decide what he should do, he felt himself begin to fall upon onside of the cliff that he was standing upon. Opening his mouth so he could find out how Mita was coming along with her search for Eslium, he found himself unable to speak due to Mita's intervention.

"I think that I sense the ore that you mentioned..." Mita called out just as Sin was about to speak. Before Mita finished with her words, she cut herself off due to the sudden bout of speed that she forced into her legs as she took off.

Not wanting to be left behind, Sin flung himself forward as well. While Mita may have been the first one to start running, due to his longer legs; Sin found that he had no difficulty in catching up with his companion. Just as Sin reached her, Mita once again suddenly moved though this time around; her movements stopped which sent dust scattering as Sin tried to force his own feet to do the same.

When he was able to gain control of his movements once more, Sin moved back to where Mita had stopped. As Sin was moving towards his dwarven companion, he could see that Mita was crouched upon the ground with her hand running atop of it.

"This is the place..." Mita muttered out as she pushed herself off the ground. When Mita reached her full height, Sin had already reached her location and though he was planning on speaking once again; this was stopped due to Mita's voice fluttering out around them. "...though I'm not sure about the size of the mineral deposit."

Unlike his last two attempts at speaking, this time around; Sin deemed that it would be best if he kept himself quiet and allowed Mita to carry on with her work uninterrupted.

Motioning for her to continue, Sin watched as her mana began to swirl around her. Moments after the mana became visible, it began to force itself into the earth directly in front of Mita.

As Mita's mana slammed itself into the ground, Sin felt a slight rumbling vibrate through the ground and into his feet. Fearing that being as close to Mita and her spell may be a safest option for him, Sin slid his feet backwards. While he was trying to put some distance between himself and the rumbling underfoot, the ground began to shred apart.

Deeper and longer lines began to slither across the ground as the earth began to open further. For a split second as the lines spread out from the opening within the ground, Sin was fearful that Mita would be swallowed by the earth though mere inches from her feet; it stopped.

"That was a close one..." Sin groaned as he brought his hand to wipe the sweat that had formed upon his brow.

Right at this moment, something began to raise from the ground. At first, Sin was unable to what the object was though eventually; the object revealed itself in its entirety.

"Eslium!"