Faith and Sword

Elena, Wake Up!

"Ebb and Flow!" shouted Elena, who surrounded herself in her blue aura once more. Guiding her magic to her staff, she commanded water from the river at her whim, using it to propel herself upstream towards Cielo and Ellis. They had managed to gain ground, chasing down the hobgoblins up the river towards Mount Yarsano. As the golden Sun made it's peak in the sky, the group gained sight on the green creatures again. They were roughly four feet tall, with fat hands and feet, each accompanied with four digits, rather than five. They had sharpened, fang-like teeth, and big, brown eyes that covered most of their small faces. Strands of black hair flapped on the tops of their heads as they hurried towards the mountain with their shiny treasures.

The ground became steeper and rougher as the ground turned from rich soil to slick, black rocks. Elena finally caught up to the two of them, riding the wave of water in a serene-like fashion.

"Hi guys!" she smiled, waving her free hand at them as she commanded the water with her staff in the other. Ellis stared in awe, as Cielo kept rushing forward, gripping his Sacred Treasure tightly.

"Wow! So pretty," Ellis responded, nearly slipping on the damp rocks as she watched Elena's magic.

"I'll go ahead of you, I can guide through the water faster than you guys will scale the rocks. Don't fall!" Elena cheered, as she rushed upstream. Cielo's brow came down again, as the two humans rushed and climbed up the rocks as fast as they could.

"Elena's got it easy this time," he pouted in a childlike manner, as they climbed up the steep rocks.

"We're a team, maybe you should try to be nicer to her!" Ellis pleaded.

"But she's soooo annoying," bitched Cielo.

"If you open yourself up, maybe you'll be less irritated. She's not that annoying, Cielo. Be realistic," Ellis said confidently. Cielo looked back towards her, meeting her eyes for what seemed like the first time.

"Maybe you're right," Cielo admitted. 

Ellis smiled gently, and looked back towards the rocks, gripping the crevices with her small, pale hands. The rapids of the river splashed over them, soaking their clothing and cloaks, as they tried to scale the steep rocks without slipping. The mountain seemed to form here, with the steep black rocks and the rushing river as it's base. From here it only got steeper, the mountain being a mixture of red and black rock, while the river winded all of the way from the top of the mountain, which was impossible to see through the clouds at the moment. 

After a few minutes of rough climbing and near-slips, Ellis and Cielo make it to the top of the steep rocks. A small plateau formed here, where the river continued to cut through the rocks. In the middle of the river stood Elena, surrounded by a clan of hobgoblins; plenty more than they were chasing at first.

"Tidal Wave!" Elena panted, commanding a wave of water towards a few of them, washing them away. But they continued to approach her, popping up behind surrounding rocks and appearing for a fight, crude spears and axes in hand. And Elena, short on breath, was doing her best to fend them off, whacking one on the head with her staff, while she flooded water at another. Ellis sprinted over, after processing the situation, and slid through a hobgoblin, kicking it through the knees and knocking it over.

"Take that!" Ellis shouted, as she narrowly dodged the tip of a rock-headed spear from another hobgoblin. She gripped the spear's handle with her hand, pulling it away from the hobgoblin and disarming it. The small, green creature hissed at her, as she threw the spear back at it like a javelin, piercing it's upper cavity. It bled dark-green blood, as it collapsed on the slick, black rocks, gripping the implanted spear with one of it's stout hands.