The Deadmages by J.C.G. & C.E.M.

Chapter 6: Match 2

This one is way too short, sorry. 

 Trish and I were the only two left, so we had to pick our enemies carefully. After discussing our possible opponents, we decided to not face the Light guild after all. I argued that this was because they could start a forest fire and burn our plants down, but it was really because I didn't want to face Blake. It might send a rift between our friendship. Instead, we challenged the Mud guild, the second weakest out there. There were apparently dozens of guilds here, not just four. In this guild, there were only three people. A girl and two boys, one of them shorter than the other. The girl was the toughest of the three, but she had still only been here for around a month. The others were three weeks into their training.

The guild members made their way towards us after our declaration. The girl was in front, with the younger kids behind. She and the others bowed to us. The female had warm milk chocolate-colored skin and jet black hair wrapped in a bun at the nape of her neck. Her weapon of choice was a spear covered in red and black markings in a strange foreign language.

"We will be happy to battle you both. However, we know you chose us because you think we're weak. Be prepared for a shock," The leader of the Mud guild said. Trish smiled.

"Samantha, I admit we picked you for your small number, but in no way do we think your powers are lesser. We knew we wouldn't be able to go up against one of the larger guilds, like Winter or Crystal. I know you will give us a challenge," Trish said. Samantha nodded, her smile turning serious, preparing for the match.

We made our ways to the center of the field, where a small meadow was. We were allowed a minute with our teammates to discuss strategy. After that, the gong sounded, and the game began.

Trish and I immediately ran over to separate trees and began climbing the branches. We would avoid landing on the ground, where the Mud guild could trap us in the ground and suffocate us until we went unconscious or... further. Some of the trees had clusters of ivy surrounding them. I only used those to climb. This way, I could be near enough to my magic and not need to waste energy bringing them to me. The Mud guild caught on to our plan quickly. They joined us in the treetops, chasing us down in hopes of knocking Trish and I to the ground.

"Garret!" I heard Trish shouting for me. She was making a gesture with her hands, lacing her fingers together and swinging them around. I understood. I stopped running on a tree covered with more vines than most. Concentrating, I pulled the creeping plants off of the trunk and wove them together to form a net. I threw the net through the air towards the Mud guild, who at the moment had clumped together. It stuck the two boys, entangling them and dropping them to the ground. I heard a snap, and a scream.

The shorter boy had broken his arm. The other had been knocked out by the fall. Only the girl was left now. She had jumped to the ground to pull the net off of her comrades. She left the K.O.ed boy where he lay to be picked up by a medic later, but helped the still wailing boy to his feet. His forearm was swollen from the break. Samantha pulled a vine off the ground to fashion a sling for him. Then, with a nod from the boy, she suddenly smacked the back of his head, and gently lowered his sleeping figure to the ground. I was shocked at how brutal she was to her own friend, but Trish grimly nodded. It was probably better for everyone if he wasn't involved.

Samantha turned towards us with a new determination in her eyes. She wanted revenge. I could tell that it wasn't a bloodlust sort of revenge, but rather one where she had put us both in the medic tent. Samantha pulled some dirt off the ground around her. It liquified in the air, turning to mud. Was she using the water vapor in the air and mixing it with the dirt? She stepped into the cloud of mud and used it to lift her off of the ground. The cloud grew closer to us, and Trish began to run. I took her lead and made like a leaf. If she caught me, I could say goodbye to air for a little while.

She was gaining on us, as she was floating and we were hopping from tree to tree. After a few seconds, she had reached me. I was already worn after the first bought of fighting. I was panting and sweating profusely. Samantha noted this with cold eyes and surrounded me with her elemental weapon. I jerked around frantically. There was nowhere to run. She appeared overhead in a space between the pulsing walls, hefting her spear between her hands. Samantha came down on me in a swirl of fury, raining blows along my curled up body. I was too tired to fight back, with magic or physical strength. I could only hope that Trish would stop her. It seemed like that wouldn't happen. I felt my mind separating from my body as the world around me blurred, then disappeared. The last image I saw was Trish flying down with her spikes, charging Samantha.