The Liberation of the Mages Heart

Where is Bell?

Sir Ursuline nodded solemnly, signaling for Morwynn to be secured. As they bound her hands, Morwynn chuckled, her laughter echoing eerily through the air. "Oh, mage Ruth, you're even more captivating when you're angry," she purred, her eyes fixated on him.

Ruth met her gaze with cold determination, ignoring her attempts to unsettle him. The knights exchanged wary glances as they led Morwynn away, her every step a calculated dance of defiance.

Despite the urgency of their mission, a sense of foreboding lingered in the air. The river, witness to both deception and captivity, mirrored the complex currents of the unfolding tragedy. Ruth, with a heavy heart, remained focused on the task at hand, driven by the desperate need to find the real Bell.

***

Sir Ursuline secured the captive Morwynn to his horse as they pressed on in their journey toward Ethlene.

"Something is off..." Ruth murmured, his senses on high alert as he scanned the surroundings.

Approaching a clearing, the air suddenly filled with clashing and crushing noises, the cacophony of battle echoing through the stillness.

Morwynn pursed her lips, a twisted satisfaction in her eyes. "Looks like my friends are having some fun."

Growls and screeches, the clash of blades, and the desperate screams of warriors intermingled, creating an ominous symphony.

Rushing towards the tumult, the Remdragon Knights entered a scene of chaos. Ancient guls—morgols—engaged in a brutal skirmish with an infantry division of Livadon. Ruth, his eyes scanning the fray, spotted Tylena and Maevis fighting within the chaos. He hastened towards them, unleashing a massive fireball to scatter two approaching morgols.

"Maevis! Tylena!" he called out, relief washing over both of them as they saw their comrades arriving. Tylena and Maevis, visibly worn out and exhausted, met Ruth's gaze.

"What is going on?" he asked, deflecting the relentless attacks of the morgols.

"We've been fighting monsters for weeks now. These morgols are especially dangerous, but they stopped accreting in numbers for the past few weeks," Maevis explained, while Tylena added, "Also a huge monster army is forming, mage Ruth. We're constantly spreading out, trying to disturb their formation and kill as many monsters as possible, but it seems to be in vain."

"I understand..." Ruth surveyed the chaotic battlefield. "Where is Commander Belisent?" - "She must be fighting that orc. He was the strongest of this monster division," Maevis pointed in the northwest direction, and without hesitation, Ruth took off.

***

Belisent's breath ragged as she finally drew her sword through the muscular neck of the orc, severing its head after an exhausting struggle.

Landing on her knees, she muttered, "Finally," only to abruptly jump to the side, narrowly dodging the venomous attack of a necromancer.

"You again," she growled at the creature, and the necromancer chuckled. "Funny to meet you here again. How did you manage to survive my attack?" He tilted his head, then shrugged. "Well, it won't matter now because your life is going to end here. You are a real pain, look what you did to my poor orc commander." He hissed and launched an assault on Belisent, who, worn out from the fight with the orc, barely evaded the necromancers attacks.

Ruth's dagger activated itself again, shielding her.
„Interesting shield...", the necromancer muttered, altering his attacks now.

The intensity of his blasts grew, straining the daggers magical shield.

Belisents breaths labored, her armor strained with the remnants of her recent battle. She sought to a moment of respite, desperately avoiding the necromancers attacks.