So glad to see Reilly, I let out a heavy sigh I didn't know I was keeping inside. Thanking whatever gods there are for us meeting this early it the second stage, I take out Reilly's extended arm and get off the wet ground.
I thought I will have to wait a bit more, but apparently everyone should be inside the second arena by now. The fight didn't seem to take so much time, neither did my giving up lying on the ground. The fog is so disorienting, probably enchanted as well, making us loose track of time. Praying there are no other spells put out against us, we decide to keep moving in hope to bump into the rest of our friends.
The starting area was pretty much flat ground with a heavy fog. The visibility got better as we walked around, except for knocking into occational traps that would flashbang us. My eyes got burned by the strong light multiple times, up to the point that they are stinging now.
We got out of the deep fog only to find ourselves in the middle of the main event. There is an obstacle course build around the arena, resembling The Pit. There is no dirty water awaiting us if we slip from it, but they upgraded the skill level for the obstacles. Point of this stage is to catch as many specters we can, and of course the most of them are floating inside the torture course. There were some on our way here, but they are not easy to catch if it's just a single fairy light flying around.
Some students made it here before us. Majority is still trying to win the spectral hunt, either by catching as many as they can, or steal pouches from other students, since it's allowed. If we could just wait for others to act like monkeys, jump around and catch the specters for us, I would definitely do that. Unfortunately, we would have to fight them for their pouch and swap as many as we can, because no matter how many we steal, we are allowed to carry only one bag. I thought it was just a rule for us to play a bit nicer, but as we stayed to watch other students and come up with a plan, we noticed a big guy who took down multiple students. He wanted to run away with his stolen loot, but while holding those pouches, he couldn't lift his feet to move. Like glued to a spot, he tossed away the pouches in anger and then he was free.
Mine is still empty while Reilly managed to catch two golden specters on the way. She offered to give me one, but I didn't want to cheat. Despite being way behind others with the amount of specters caught and gained points for each one, Reilly wanted to stay and keep watching for a bit longer.
At first I thought we are waiting for the girls or someone else we could team up with, but Reilly kept her eyes on something else. I didn't want to question her strategy, but we definitely need to at least get into the arena, hopefully meet up with our friends and catch enough specters for us to pass. I hopped down from this broken fence which is made out of thick branches, like those basic ones used for cattle.
Ignoring Reilly's words telling me to wait, I tighten the grip on my pouch and continue walking into the obstacle course. I picked up my pace, because I think I saw Lucy in the distance, jumping on top of rotating planks while chasing a green specter. Yelling out her name, I try to get her attention, but then I get a sharp pain inside my right leg and the whole world spins.
Everything keeps moving left to right and back as I am swinging to the sides. I should have expected more traps, but never would have imagined there will be snares placed around to catch us like wild animals. My ankle is twisted and the skin around it is being scraped by the harsh material of the rope. All my effort to tighten the pouch closer to me ended up in vain, because with the force I got propelled up, I released my grip and the bag fell right under me. Luckily it's still empty, so no one will try to steal it right now.
Staring at the pouch while the swinging slows down, all I can do is wait for someone's help. Reilly finally comes over and has a good snort before releasing me. One good thing brought up from this is that my shriek with the help of Reilly's cackling caught a lot of attention, Lucy's included.
YOU ARE READING
Hallor Chronicles
FantasíaHave you ever thought when you were little that you could have magical powers? Maybe you did but then you grew up and you forgot about it. But what if I told you that there are people with these special gifts? They could be you, or me, or your class...
