The Wielder and the Source

Chapter 28

Aldeheid picked through the wooden structure, holding the flame in his palm out to illuminate his surroundings. Weeds and vines had taken it over, clinging to it with their roots and sucking nourishment from the wood. In the east corner several holes were in the floor, and when Aldeheid shined his flame inside, he found an empty pit.

This was the third such building he'd wandered into.The north section of the backlands were riddled with such ruins, shrouded in the dense forest that surrounded them. He and Kitaya had left the town at dusk and wondered for hours on end in search of Mellidius.

They'd found no lades so far, and he suspected Kitaya would want them to turn back soon. She'd opted to stay on his shoulders after her feet got too tired.

"Why are there so many of these buildings around?" His voice reverberated off the walls, and he flinched, expecting the whole thing to collapse on him.

"There was a point in time when the backlands were very... unstable. The towns used to war over land and resources. Some of themwere completely wiped out. Hence. Only recently has the fighting stopped. I suppose the towns came to some kind of truce."

"I see." Aldeheid stepped further into the structure, his foot hitting something solid. A statue of some sort. It was too caked in dirt and weather worn to make out what it once represented. "Why have none of the towns moved in to claim this land?"

"The backland people are quite superstitious and believe that blood-soaked land stays cursed for one millennium, unless a servant of the gods cleanses it. I wonder what possessed Mellidius to creep around such a forgotten place."

Aldeheid was wondering the same. He hoped that once they found Mellidius, he'd be willing to explain his absence. Losing Shara all those years ago may have left him distraught, but he had family and friends who cared about him. And if he'd found a new cape, it meant he was done grieving.

Aldeheid moved on from the building, walking down what assumed was once a path, but was now overgrown with weeds and foliage. His foot connected with hard stone and he groaned in agony as the pain in his toes redoubled.

"The night is not kind to you, angel eyes. Let's check one more building then head back."

He nodded and held his flame to the offending object. Only then did he notice the symbols etched on its stone surface – a spell. He barely got his cape in front of him before heat and light engulfed him. The blast sent him arching head over heels through the air, and the wind was punched from his lungs as he landed on his back in a thick bush.

Branches and twigs jabbed at him and tangled in his hair. And the night got even less kind. A flash lit up his vision.

"Aldeheid, talk to me. Are you alright?" Kitaya stood over him, Behemoth in hand.

He groaned and blinked his vision clear before pushing to his feet. "I think so." Pain stabbed at his back, and his ears still rung from the blast. He teetered to one side before catching himself on a tree.

Dozens of thumps echoed through the night as the masked freaks materialized from the darkness. There were so many of them, on the ground in the trees, macabre masks glowing in the moonlight like an army of vengeful spirits.

Aldeheid put his back to Kitaya's and drew his blade. There wasn't a chance of them being able to fight all of them alone.

"We carve a path and escape," Kitaya said.

"Can you distract them? I'll try to conjure something up." Aldeheid centered his mind on Kitaya and recited the spell. The draft from her attacks wafted over him, the screech of metal on metal grating on his ears. He angled his sword forward as magic ignited into fire, the tendrils of heat creeping down the blade.