Stoneweaver

Stoneweaver - Chapter 33

The guard slid to the ground as Thortus pulled his blade free, but he found himself short of breath from the brief skirmish. And also exhilarated. He hadn't realised he could miss the rush of combat so much, but now he ached to get back into the fight. Well, maybe the ache was due to stretching too much on that last thrust, but it'd worked, and a part of him definitely wanted back into the fight.

He took a moment to check both ends of the fight along the corridor. They'd tried to leave the moment their forces had come into view in the distance, only to find guards and Stoneweavers ready to keep them there. So now the enemy had them surrounded, but only just.

Lorkell lay slumped against one wall, with no signs of movement or life, and his wounds didn't look hopeful. Just beyond him Baroden, himself sporting a few nasty wounds and supporting himself against the wall, fought the last Stoneweaver in that direction, his wooden avatar pushing his opponent back, even though a good portion of its mass had been shed. He'd need something else to animate before they could venture further. A couple of regular guards lingered uselessly behind the Stoneweaver, but didn't seem as anxious to dash past as the others had, and could well break when their protector fell.

Down the other end of the corridor, Elgren stood firmly in the middle of it, a sword grabbed from one of the wall decorations in one hand as he directed his air avatar against those of the two Stoneweavers facing him.

Thortus didn't think any of them could see the others' animations, but from the impacts against the walls it seemed that Elgren managed to block every attempt of theirs to slip through and attack him. But even though he appeared to be stuck in a defensive position, Thortus had no doubt he could win this. His posture reminded Thortus of the old days, when Elgren had been his unbeaten champion, never seeming to consider the possibility he could lose. He'd always had a single-minded determination to become the best at his chosen profession, to rise to the top, and let nothing get in his way.

He'd beat them. But how long would it take, and how long did they have? Thortus couldn't allow him the opportunity for the victory he wanted. Moving towards him, he began taking up the lighter ornaments in the corridor, those which would make decent missiles, and began chucking them over Elgren's head, or along the side of the corridor.

Some went straight through, occasionally getting near enough he Stoneweavers that they had to dodge, but others got caught up in the air avatars, and went flying off at all angles, usually with greater speed, and the Stoneguards began backing nervously away, their glances switching between two targets now. A few missiles got shot back, but Elgren ignored them even when they crashed a foot away.

One of the Stoneweavers got hit first, a solid blow to the arm, which half-turned him, and that provided all the distraction Elgren needed. The injured Stoneweaver must have been controlling the air avatar wrestling Elgren's. whether he'd lost control of it, or it just stopped a moment, Elgren didn't hesitate in sending his charging forward before the other Stoneweaver realised what had happened, and it slammed the pair of the into the far wall, and crushed them until they stopped moving.

Turning back, Thortus found Baroden had dispensed his opponents, and now checked Lorkell. Spotting Thortus' gaze, he shook his head, and moved to join them.

Ducking back from glancing around the corner, Elgren turned to them, collecting the fallen gemstones in passing. "Nobody in sight, but I can hear movement nearby."

"We're not fighting our way out, are we?" Thortus said.

Nodding his head, Elgren glanced around. "We don't know how many there are. We'd do better finding somewhere defensible, with a view of the battle." He began trying the doors, finally settling on one near the far end of the corridor, into which he ushered them.

It appeared a study of some kind, with a wooden bookcase against one wall, and a wooden table near the window.

Baroden moved to the table with the gemstone recovered from his previous avatar. It didn't work, so he moved to the bookcase.

"Use it to barricade the door," Elgren told him.

The window offered a partial view of the battle, but what they could see didn't look promising. The statues had been animated. All of them. And their troops were being forced off the road towards the fields, with Narvon's army marching towards them. Thortus exchanged a troubled glance with Elgren.

"Can you see any options besides waiting and hoping they win?" he asked.

Glancing back to the battle, Elgren frowned. "Now I've spare zelxus', two of us can fly. Between us, and with the spare stone, we might be able to fly you to safety. But we don't know how many of Narvon's Stoneweaver are in the air nearby, where their familiarity will give them the edge, never mind numbers. If the battle seems to turn against our forces then that's probably our best option. But until then..." He let it trail off.

Needing little help seeing the danger of their situation, Thortus turned back to the battle. While he couldn't deny his trepidation, the excitement remained. He felt more alive than he had in years, and he fully intended to try and maintain the feeling when he returned to Melmyrn. He'd hunt down the traitor, if they existed outside of his former paranoid delusions, and take a more active role in governing the place. He'd let himself become complacent, believing he'd reached the top and had nothing left to achieve, but there was always something, and he was determined to find it.

He didn't really doubt that they'd get out of this. Despite his obvious concerns, Elgren's face maintained that indomitable look. He'd stop at nothing. He acknowledged the forces arrayed against him, then found a way to beat them.

So what was it about that single-minded approach that now niggled at Thortus, as though his mind were trying to tell him something?