The South's Plight

Plans

Hadrian saw the men circling Virgil, like a noose closing around one's neck. He wouldn't let him die. He couldn't. Virgil was the healer. Not just that. He was a comrade. Someone he could trust.

He ran forward and hacked through men as if they were a piece of warm butter. Hadrian then ran towards Virgil, falling on his knees, in shock of all the wounds he saw.

The enemies closed in even more, them bearing scowls and smirks. He felt anger building up inside him. He channeled it and an inferno spilled out from his palms, killing the soldiers.

He stared in horror at his palms. They... they did that. No. He did that. He was scared. But he blinked then focused on getting Virgil out of there. He stared at the cleric. "Don't die on me." He said in frustration.

The medic was no use dead. And Hadrian wasn't any use if all he did was fail to save his teammates.

If only he hadn't ran out and left him alone. He quickly picked him up and carried him. He pushed aside those thoughts. He was still in a war zone with enemies all over. As he walked over, the group shifted to them slowly. They were fighting off enemies.

Another group noticed this and jumped in, helping slay them. Hadrian began running as fast as his legs could carry him back to base. Virgil needed medical attention. The others followed right behind him.

Volleys of arrows rained down on them, yet they dodged all of them. The other men weren't so fortunate. Soldiers he didn't know were being killed easily. They were halfway through the storm of arrows.

As Hadrian ran, he ran straight into an arrow, it hitting him in his right arm. He winced in pain, his face contorting into a grimace. He shrugged it off and kept running. He had to make it.

He somehow quickened his pace, a stitch burning in his side. He ignored it though. He had to make it. His feet carried him and Virgil back into base where he set Virgil down on the wet grass. He then fell over in exhaustion. His breathing was ragged.

They went from past the heart of the battlefield all the way back into base within a short amount of time. Magnus walked over to the two glancing at them, unsure whether to laugh, be impressed, or concerned. He decided to keep the first to himself.

"You alright mate?" He bent down and got a closer look at him. Hadrian mumbled in response, too tired to even form words. "You appear to have got an arrow in your shoulder!" Morpheus walked over the saying, "Thanks for telling us that, Captain Obvious." He was of course being sarcastic. Hadrian was now in a deep slumber, right by Virgil.

Morpheus sat down, taking a swig of Firebrand Mead. Maverick was sitting on the edge of a hill beside them, drinking Elven Nectar, a delicacy for elves who lived in the capital. "Shouldn't we move these guys to a hospital or something?" Magnus asked, a bit loud. After a few grunts in agreement from Morpheus and a nod from Maverick they picked up the two and carried them to get medical attention.

Hadrian woke up in a cot, the arrow removed from his shoulder. The wound was healed, leaving no scar. The work of a cleric. He suddenly jolted up, realizing he was no longer with Virgil. He didn't know what happened to him.

He looked over to his right, finding a balding man, missing one arm. The man also had an eyepatch and a stubble of a beard.

He then looked over to his left, seeing Virgil, eyes closed, arm dangling off the side of his cot. He felt relief, and sighed. "Thank the gods."

Virgil stirred, waking up, him facing Hadrian. "Hadrian, is that you?" His eyes were almost closed and he had a confused expression. The last thing he could remember was the inferno.

Virgil wondered why Hadrian was in the medbay. He looked at his shoulder, and realized.  He sacrificed his health and energy to save Virgil. He had zoomed past the others, running as fast as he could. That was why they weren't as tired. They also didn't get an arrow in their shoulder. That's why he was in the medbay, and nobody else was.

"Yes it's me." He replied in a relaxed tone. After a moment of silence, Virgil spoke up again. "Thanks for saving me back there.

Hadrian noticed his surprised tone. "Well of course. Why wouldn't I? You're a member of the team. I would've done the same with Magnus, Maverick, or Morpheus, although I don't know I could carry him."

They both chuckled at the joke and once the laughter died off, Virgil spoke again. "Well clerics are abundant in other lands, and I'm no special snowflake."

"Yes you are. Most clerics cower in battle, standing at the corners or healing outside the battlefield. You were out there taking the fight to them. And you saved my life earlier."

"Well now we're equal. Why don't we find out what the others are up to?" Virgil felt the need to be active, despite his overall soreness. He and Hadrian left to go seek out the other three, hoping to figure out what happened. Of course they got food along the way.
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Morpheus, Maverick, and Magnus had just told the General what had happened in the battle. It was mandatory. They fled after all. The enemies fell back too due to the volleys of arrows still being thrown at them.

"This boy, you said he summoned fire?" "Uh yes sir.", Magnus said, clearing his threat after. "Hm. Keep an eye on the boy. We never know what might happen next." Morpheus spoke up, his deeper voice responding. "Will do, General. Anything else?"

The General cracked his knuckles and paced in front of a scroll, containing a map. "Yes, in fact. Your squad has proven to be quite unique. Not to mention you all survived that battle. So I'm sending you to the North. There you'll infiltrate their castles, gathering a group of mercenaries and various volunteers. You need help in this mission. You soon must infiltrate the capitol of the North. You will be part of the attack. We will also send a group from the east. These two groups will attack from both sides. Then you'll take over the capitol and win the war."

They all nodded, afraid to disagree. Morpheus wasn't afraid of facing the man. Nor were the others. It's the thought of being on an entire army's bad side that almost made them afraid.

"You are dismissed. I want you to help me plan however later on." The General then went back to observing the map, muttering under his breath possible routes. They all walked out, unsure of what the future held for them.