Author Games Magi: Eriswen Faervel

Task Three: Escape

I woke up with a wand clutched in my hand. The caves were closed again, but apparently I had been allowed out of mine. Exhaustion crashed over me as I sat up and looked around. Other tributes were waking up around me, but no one seemed inclined to attack anyone else yet. My own energy levels were still perilously low, and risking an attack didn't seem like a good idea. Not for the first time since arriving in the arena, I wished that Ionean were here with me. Never before had I realized how much I had loved to be able to get onto his back and go anywhere with him.

Strangely, the block on Ionean's thoughts was weaker than it had been. Experimenting, I poked at it gently. It didn't give, but it would definitely be easier to break if I tried hard enough, and currently, that was good enough for me. Maybe I could figure something out to get through it later when I wasn't surrounded by people who were likely to kill me.

Using my hands to push off the ground, I stood and looked around, steadying myself against the wall. My head hurt, and I could feel little gaps in my memory: holes that I couldn't seem to fill. I couldn't even remember how I had gotten the wand that I was holding. All I could remember was a glowing brooch and a dragon. Nearly everything before that was gone. Whole days spent doing who-knows-what were just wiped away from my mind like they'd never even happened.

Hopefully, Ionean would be able to help me out with that problem later. First, I had to go. It took more effort than I thought it would to make myself start walking. My legs burned, already tired before they even started moving.

I made it to the river without incident and contemplated how to get across it. There was no way I had enough energy to walk over a shield. My legs buckled, and I almost decided not to get up again. My head was pounding, and living currently seemed to be more painful than dying. So why did I bother trying? With a shake of my head, I pushed that thought away. There was no giving up here. Not if I wanted to see Ionean again.

Forcing myself up again, I looked for some way to get across safely. Without the ability to use my shield, I was helpless. Unless there was a bridge around somewhere, I was stranded on the wrong side of the river. The wand was heavy in my hands as I paced back and forth, wasting energy, but not really caring.

Asawake joined me at the river. He seemed just as tired as I was, but he clearly wasn't too tired to get across: I could tell that by looking at him. "I got the wand I needed," I said with a wry smile. "Not much help now though. I don't have enough energy to get across."

He watched the water for a moment. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I would just use the light to create a rope, but I don't want to run out of energy half way across and end up dead."

"Is there some way to combine our energy?" It would probably work if we were extremely careful about it and actually knew how to. At least, it should work. That would depend on whether or not our energy was compatible. If it wasn't, there was a fifty-fifty chance that we would either combust or just lose all of our energy and die.

"Man, this is probably one of the best times to have griffin available," Asawake muttered.

"Aren't there griffins around?"

"They didn't stay. They can't cross the river anyway," he explained.

Reaching out, he grabbed me as I paced by again. "Stop that, Eris. You'll waste all of your energy before you even get anywhere. We need to figure this out before we get stranded."

Something fluttered down from the sky in the corner of my vision. Before it fell into the river, I reached out and snatched it. It was a note written in the Forbidden Tongue. Asawake took it out of my hands. "Who's it for?" he asked.

"Me." My name was scribbled on the front of it hastily. Taking it back, I opened it and read it quickly.

Eris,