Elements of Change

The Fight

Ezo crept behind Kammon, trying to imitate the man's movements as they got closer to the raider's camp. Above the trees, he spotted a flash of red that quickly disappeared. Ember had vanished but every so often she made herself seen in brief bursts of color. If he wasn't looking for her, he wouldn't have seen her at all.

The camp was two miles from the road and he could see a couple wagons on the outside of their camp. It was hard to see inside it, but the clearing was small enough that it couldn't be a large group. They had an elementalist though and he and Kammon needed to keep an eye out for that. He could sense the elementalist somewhere, but that meant if the other was looking, they could sense Ezo and Kammon as well.

Kammon stopped and motioned Ezo to his side. "I'll go in first. Watch my back," he whispered.

"What if you need help in there?"

Kammon glared. "This isn't my first battle, Ezo. It is yours though. You might be good with a natural disaster, but you haven't fought anything that fights back."

Ezo wanted to argue, but Kammon had it right. He was inexperienced. He let Kammon take the lead, but he wasn't going to be far behind him. He nodded.

Kammon's eyes thinned, like he was waiting for Ezo to argue, then he huffed. "Just do as I say." Kammon stayed crouched along the tree line and moved closer.

As they approached, Ezo could see that the wagons created a wall around their camp. He caught Kammon's hand and stopped him. He recognized the wagon he'd been traveling in. It was Alvrey's.

Kammon's brows furrowed as he looked at Ezo. Ezo pointed to the wagon. Kammon mouthed the word "Yours?" and Ezo nodded. Kammon's mouth turned down and his frown softened to something more like sympathy. Ezo didn't see the other wagons from the players though and that had to mean something, right? He refused to think the raiders had killed his friends. Until he found proof, he would keep looking.

Kammon gave him a minute, but as they continued to look at each other, the elementalist nodded at him with a question in his eyes. Ezo returned the nod. He was ready.

Kammon closed in on the opening in the wagons and Ezo stayed behind him, giving him space to work. Ezo watched the red spiral of flames circle around him as he stood up straight and walked into the camp.

There were loud shouts from inside and Ezo saw Kammon pull air around him. It jumped from Kammon's hands in a large blast. At the same time, he felt magic behind him. He turned, bringing a shield of earth up between him and the magic. It broke on the wall of earth, and Ezo sidestepped it to see what was coming for him. The elementalist that had joined the raiders was juggling the white-blue spheres of air around him as he prepared another attack.

Ezo didn't wait. He ran, closing the distance between them, and used his magic to pick up the earth around him, throwing it in darts at the other man. He dodged, but more than one hit his extremities. Ezo saw blood welling on more than one spot but he didn't have time for remorse. He reached the man and cocked his fist back, striking him square in the nose. The man stumbled back and swiped out with a wild burst of air that pushed Ezo back.

Ezo dug his hands into the ground and it started to shake where the man was standing. He struggled to get his footing, but Ezo didn't give him time. He pulled a block of earth from the ground and aimed it at the man's head. It hit with a heavy thunk and the man fell unconscious to the ground.

Ezo built another block of earth around him, pinning him to the ground in case he woke.

When he looked behind him, he froze.

There wasn't one elementalist with the raiders. There were four, and three of them were attacking Kammon. The man's magic whirled around him in feats that Ezo couldn't begin to understand. Fire danced among water and air pushed at his enemies. Kammon wasn't just holding his own, he was winning.