Magic and Destiny: Fate

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Morning light hit the parapets of the village walls, and off the distance, a trail of thick smoke could be seen coming from the farms. Lance turned around, picking his mace from his belt, and threw it at the warning bell, making a loud crash, and the bell to start ringing. Doors flew open, and Dominic stormed from his house, running to the gates to see what was going on.

"Smoke from the farms, Dominic. We didn't even hear conflict or any warning last night."

"Good job, Lance. Get the men down from the wall, saddle up. We ride for the farms in ten minutes!" Dominic turned and ran back to his house in order to get dressed for the ride.

He was back in five minutes time, and the others had mounted their horses. The gates swung up and they charged out of the village towards the farms. The smoke was getting thicker as they neared it. The smell started to fill their noses. Ears pinned back against their heads. Dominic dismounted at full gallop when they got to the first house, rushing into the house and checking for survivors.

The farmer's wife was dead on the kitchen floor, clothes torn, knife sticking out of her chest. Dominic started seeing red. In a flash he was out the back door, running through the field, seeing the carnage the raiders had caused. He saw a foot under some vegetation, and cleared it away. He was still alive, but barely. "Hold on, don't die on us."

The man opened his eyes, focused halfway on Dominic. "Save... children." and then the light left his eyes, and he was gone from their ranks. Dominic clenched his fists tightly, looking down at the farmer in front of him. His striping changed, streaked with white. He ran to the next farm over, searching once more for survivors. No one was left alive here either. "Damn it! Why did they not warn us!?"

Dominic's eyes began to change color a little bit, going from their normal green, to having a splash of crystalline blue. He walked out into the main street of the farms, looking from side to side as his soldiers came out of each of the houses. Dominic let out a shrill whistle, and waited.

Three small figures scurried out of the fields. One turned to the other two, and they disappeared, leaving the leader alone. Dominic walked over to the small mouse. "What happened, Oli?"

Oli looked up the length of Dominic, staring at his face. "Raid is what happened. The farmers forgot the plan and tried defending their homes. Told us to take the children and hide. The others are gathering the children from the hiding place. We would have used the mirrors, but one of us sensed the use of magic being used already, and we didn't want to alert the user."

Dominic looked at Oli. "No, you did fine, Oli. Climb up onto my shoulder." He would rather have the children safe, and undiscovered by the enemy, and then have been warned. The situation was not ideal. But it was better than it could have been.

The other two mouse kin returned, with three little children in tow. "Alright, this is not the place for information gathering. Roland and Lance will stay here, look about and find which way they went. Get the children on the horses, and let's get back to town." Everyone rushed to do what was bidden, and the children were set upon saddles in due course. Dominic turned with the others, and began to lead them back to town. His blood was simmering under the surface. He was itching for a fight, but sparring was not the answer. He wouldn't stop at physical exertion.

They rode back in silence. A few of the village healers, male and female both came up to them as they approached, holding out their hands for the children. They picked them up, and ran them to the healers hut while the horses were put back into the stables. People gathered around, asking questions, wanting to know what happened.