Mages of the North: The Adventure Begins

Chapter 39

Running as quickly and silently as they could through the forest, the three aspiring mages prepared themselves for their first battle as a team. Their opponent was far more powerful than they, but they had a plan and had every intention to make it happen. All three of them were nervous, but their adrenaline pushed them onward.

As they neared their target, they dove into some bushes and hid in the vegetation to plan things over one more time before springing into action. Standing in the wide-open field with his arms crossed was their mentor, Flare. who was waiting patiently for them to make their next move. He hadn't bothered to chase them down at all, but they knew he always had a rough idea of where they were.

Kathrina, who was kneeling on the ground to Floris' right, looked at him and asked, "Are you sure this will work, Floris? We're essentially three new-born kittens trying to take on a fully grown lion. I'd actually prefer those odds compared to what we're facing right now. We're more like three ants trying to fight a human."

Floris looked at Kathrina for a moment, then directed his attention back to Flare as he answered, "No. I can only go off what I assume will work, but a bad plan is still a plan."

Kathrina nodded in agreement, "True. To be honest, I'm going to be at a loss if this doesn't work. If we were facing anybody else this would probably work, but you saw how easily he brushed off my attacks from earlier."

Alvis looked at Floris for a quick moment, then returned his focus on Flare and asked, "So, what's your plan for distracting him, Floris? Did you think about that?"

Floris lowered his head and sighed as if he really didn't want to do something. He looked at Alvis and Kathrina for a moment, then pulled out the two knives on his hips and laid them on the ground. He then reached for one of his strongest poisons and poured it on both of his knives, drenching both sides in as much of the poison as he could before the bottle emptied out.

Alvis looked at him with a hint of shock, then looked at Floris with a face of immense confusion, "Wait, you're not going to..."

Floris nodded at Alvis and replied, "He did say we wouldn't win this if we weren't prepared to kill him. If I somehow land a strike on him, even the faintest cut will be fatal. This poison I just coated my knife in is the strongest I've made to date. If it can kill a Swamp Eagle in less than five seconds, Flare should drop within two."

Alvis and Kathrina looked at each other, neither one really supporting the idea, but they both hesitantly nodded. Silently agreeing that it might be their only option. Alvis then looked ahead of him and stated, "I hope he knew what he was doing when he said that."

"Well, based on what I've seen so far... ranged attacks are no good, neither is trying to use magic against him. The only thing we haven't tried yet is hand-to-hand combat." Said Floris.

Kathrina looked at Floris for a moment as she thought, then returned her attention to Flare as she spoke, "It might be enough to take him by surprise, but don't think getting close to him will be enough. Elementals have a reputation for breaking jaws and cracking skulls with just one punch. They can hit like a flying boulder - they're not to be taken lightly, even in close quarters combat."

Floris looked at Kathrina with a very unamused look in his eyes and asked, "Oh, I'm sorry, would you like to come up with a better plan? It's not like you're making me more and more nervous while you're talking about how hard he can hit!"

Kathrina chuckled silently and responded, "Sorry."

Floris rolled his eyes and shook his head, then looked at both his teammates and asked if they were ready. They both nodded and they all three hopped out of the bushes to confront their mentor, who was standing just a few feet away from them and staring at them intently. There was a short standoff of eerie silence before Kathrina made the first move.