Vol. II Chapter XI: A Broken Promise

The moon shone brightly over the supply camp. A gust of wind whistled through the silence. 

Liviana’s ears twitched, her gaze locked on the cages beyond the fire pits.

Then she ran.

“Liviana, wait!” Tagunel’s voice cut through the night, but she didn’t react. 

Her steps were silent, feline, but full of determination. She darted past two tents and disappeared among dark supply crates.

Lucius cursed under his breath. “Damn it! After her, now!”

The cages were set beyond the supply corridor, shielded by a half-collapsed palisade and several tarps loosely thrown over the rusting bars.

Liviana threw herself against the iron bars, and the sight made her shiver.

Inside were Selvarin of all kinds: some with shimmering reptilian scales, others insectoid with broken, sticky wings. The air reeked of sweat, blood, sickness, and resignation.

The others caught up behind her. Liviana said nothing. Her fist twitched as if wanting to smash something. 

Then she began walking along the cages, sniffing lightly. Her pace slowed. Her shoulders trembled. Then she stopped.

Behind the bars crouched a young Selvarin woman with matted fur, hollow cheeks, and a broken ear. She had the same feline features as Liviana. Two children huddled next to her, pressed close.

As Liviana stepped closer, the prisoner slowly lifted her gaze.

Their eyes met.

“Isari…?” Liviana’s voice was barely a whisper.

The woman blinked, then her lips twitched. “L… Liv? Is it really you?”

Liviana knelt down, pressing herself against the bars. “By Selvaran… you’re alive. Where are the others? Are they here too?”

Isari weakly shook her head. “I don’t know. We were separated months ago. They only moved me and a few others here a few days back.” Her voice was hoarse. She coughed after she finished speaking.

Liviana’s claws scraped against the metal. “I’m getting you out of here.”

Tagunel stepped beside her, his expression understanding but stern. “We can’t escape with a bunch of slaves in tow. We’d be caught in minutes. We have to move. The plans, the mission...”

“Shut up!” Liviana snapped, her voice trembling with fury. “These aren’t objects. They’re my people. My kin!”

Melissa stepped beside her, locking eyes with Liviana. Then she looked at the cages and nodded.

“She’s right. We can’t just leave them behind.”

Lucius hesitated. He looked from the prisoners to the dark tents they’d come from. 

He already knew what Melissa was thinking. She wasn’t a Selvarin, but in this world, these people probably felt like something familiar. Something that reflected her.

“We may not be able to bring them with us, but if we free them… at least they’ll have a chance.” He finally said.

Melissa nodded in agreement, and while Lucius rummaged through his few remaining vials in search of a usable spell, Tagunel sighed in resignation and pulled out an essence of his own.

“Here. This’ll make it easier,” he said at last. He poured the essence over the bars.

“Teine clathri combur!”

Where the liquid trickled down the iron, the bars began to glow with blinding red-white light and melted with a loud hiss.

Just as the opening formed, a shout rang out from the end of the alley.

“Intruders! By the cages!”

A guard had spotted the light. 

Once again, horns pierced the night. Flaming torches lit up, two at first, then five, then a dozen.

“Damn it, they’ve seen us!” Tagunel shouted.

“Come on, hurry, get out of here!” Liviana called to the prisoners.

But most hadn’t realized what was happening. Only a few began to stir. Some looked around hesitantly; others didn’t move at all.

“What are you waiting for?! Don’t you want to be free?!” Liviana cried out, disbelief in her voice.

Isari slowly stood. “We’re in the middle of the steppe, Liv. Most of us can barely walk, let alone run. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Then we’ll fight our way to the stables and get you out of here in wagons!” Liviana growled and stepped between the cages and the approaching soldiers. Her muscles tensed, her pupils narrowed.

Melissa moved beside her. She closed her eyes, focused, tried to summon her claws.

But nothing happened.

Her shoulders jolted. She tried again. No spark. No surge. Her horns didn’t grow. Her eyes didn’t flash. 

“What the...” She stepped back, gasping for breath. “Why isn’t it working?!”

Lucius turned sharply. “What?”

“Something’s… blocking me. I can’t transform. I don’t know why but it feels like… something is missing.”

“Stay together!” Liviana barked.

The first wave of soldiers rushed in.

Lucius downed an essence vial. 

“Solas daille!”

A blinding circle of light flared across the alley like midday sun. The attackers staggered, some fell back, hands over their eyes. Even the group had to shield their faces.

“To the stables! Now!” Liviana shouted. 

They dashed past the disoriented soldiers. 

As they ran, Melissa stared at her own hands. Why now? Why can’t I transform?!  

But when they looked back, the slaves were still frozen in place.

“Move already! Don’t you want to be free?!” Liviana screamed. 

Tagunel ran back toward them. “I’ll get them, keep moving!”

But more soldiers were already blocking the path to the stables.

Melissa fought with brute force, but without her beast form, she seemed fragile.

A guard slammed the shaft of his spear into her shoulder. She countered, tore the weapon from his hands and broke it with a hoof stomp, but two more were already upon her.

Lucius unleashed a fire spell. The whole front of the camp erupted in flames, soldiers turned to ash in an instant.

But he staggered, the empty vial clinking to the ground.

“That was the last! But atleast it opened a path!”

Tagunel muttered a wind spell and blasted several soldiers off their feet. Then he followed, a handful of freed slaves in tow.

But just before he reached Lucius, his leg gave out. An arrow had pierced his side. On the surrounding hills, archers had taken position.

“Tagunel!” Lucius called out. 

An arrow whizzed past his face. He ducked, stumbled over a scorched corpse.

“Too many…” Melissa murmured, blood running down her temple.

A shadow fell over them as more soldiers poured in. One swung a heavy saber, barely missing Liviana’s flank.

Lucius’ eyes darted down to his belt. Empty. No more essence.

“Damn it… I can’t do anything,” he gasped, out of breath.

Melissa tossed him the stolen plans just as a soldier slammed her to the ground. 

She growled, tried to rise, but two others grabbed her, pulling her arms and hooves back, chaining her. She had no strength left to resist.

“Lucius, get out of here!” she shouted.

But he didn’t move. 

She can’t be serious. Leave her? Again?

“Back then I promised I’d never lose you again!” he cried. His voice cracked.

Melissa struggled against the soldiers holding her down. Her eyes searched for his.

"Then you’re going to have to break that promise!"

Something inside Lucius shattered. He wanted to move, but his legs wouldn’t obey him.

Liviana, drenched in blood, kept fighting.

 Then a vial of a Yashari wizard shattered at her feet, earth coiled around her legs and dragged her down until she was buried to the waist.

She screamed, snarled, but couldn’t break free. Then a blow struck her head, and she collapsed, unconscious.

Lucius scanned the chaos for Tagunel. Maybe he had a plan?

But when he saw him, the halfling was dragging himself across the ground, bleeding heavily. 

Two arrows stuck out of his chest. His eyes met Lucius’s, filled with pain, but also clarity.

"You have to keep going..."

"Tagunel!" Lucius took a step toward him. But he only raised a trembling hand. 

"If you don’t bring back the plans… it was all for nothing. Our sacrifice… would mean nothing."

Lucius stared at him. Tears welled in his eyes.

I can’t just abandon them!

With the last of his strength, Tagunel hurled his essence flask to the ground.

"NO!" Lucius cried.

“Díon scáth... Briseall solas…” the halfling whispered with his last breath, before he collapsed on the ground.

A wave of light burst forth, sweeping over the soldiers, freezing them like statues. For  a moment, time itself seemed to stop.

As the light faded, Lucius finally ran.

Toward Melissa, who was slumped between two fallen soldiers. Her arms and hooves were still bound, her face smeared with blood. But when she saw him, she lifted her head.

"Lucius... what are you doing?!"

He knelt beside her, tugging at the bindings. "I’m getting you out of here. We can make it, just the two of us!"

"Don’t be crazy..." she whispered, and though her voice was rough, there was a softness in it.

"I’m not leaving you behind!" His fingers trembled, searching for a latch, a buckle, anything he could find "I promised you!"

She closed her eyes for a second, then she looked at him. Clear and unwavering.

"Then go, but keep your promise."

"What?" He froze. Her words hit him like a blow.

"You have to leave me, Lucius. But once the mission is done... you’ll come back for me. Just like you always did."

He shook his head, voice cracking. "I can’t... not again..."

"You’re not losing me," she said. "I’ll manage, I promise."

She leaned forward as far as her restraints would allow. Her forehead touched his.

"And when you’ve gotten us out of this mess... we’re finally getting married. For real this time."

For a moment, there was only the warmth of her breath against his skin. 

Then he pulled away, staggering back, still hesitating. He nodded.

"I love you," he said softly.

She smiled. "I’m counting on you, little wizard."

Then he ran, eyes half shut, breath burning in his throat, legs trembling with every step.

 The plans were pressed tightly against his chest, rolled up beneath his belt. His fingers clutched them like an anchor as he stumbled through burning tents and toppled wagons.

He ducked under a rope, nearly fell, caught himself on a broken crate. 

Then the ground beneath his feet turned softer, claylike. A sign he was close.

He stumbled down a gentle slope. Only the faint echo of horns and distant shouting reached his ears. 

Then he saw  a small half-circle of slender trees in the middle of the barren land.

A quiet pool of water shimmered under the moonlight. 

And in front of it, was a figure.

A man in a sand-colored cloak, hood low over his face, stood by the water’s edge. 

He lifted his head slightly as Lucius approached.

“You’re late,” he said with a calm voice.

Lucius stopped a few steps away. Panting. Speechless.

The man looked him over, from the tattered cloak to the soot-blackened hands and the scrolls strapped to his waist.

“Where are the others?” he asked.

Lucius froze.

His gaze dropped. He tried to speak. A name. Any name. But his voice failed and he shook his head slowly.

The contact’s brow furrowed. Then he nodded.

“I see,” he murmured. Softer now. Almost respectfully.

A soft whistle. 

From the shadows, a thick-bodied mount emerged, black and scaly, with three twisted horns on its brow. Steam puffed from its nostrils in the cool night air. It pulled a small cart, just large enough for four people.

Lucius climbed onto the wagon. Every muscle ached. The weight of his choice pulled on his limbs like chains. 

The man took the reins and climbed onto the beast: “Heya!”

The mount began to trot. Slowly at first. Then faster. The oasis faded behind them. Then the hills.

Lucius said nothing more.

Only the plans remained in his hands. And the promise still burned inside him.

The rhythm of hoofbeats thudded across the dusty plain. The creature marched steadily into the night.

Lucius felt every cut, every bruise, but none stung like what gnawed inside. 

The memory of Tagunel’s last glance. Melissa’s voice as she sent him away.

And now, he was alone again. Just like he used to be, in his old life.

“I could’ve done more,” he whispered into the wind, tears running down his face.

But then he saw her face again. The clarity in her eyes.

Then go, but keep your promise.

He closed his eyes. Drew in a long breath. And opened them again, full of fire.

“I’ll come back,” he muttered. His voice grew stronger. “And if they lay a finger on you, I’ll burn the whole of Yashar to the ground, i swear it...”

The sky ahead had turned a pale blue. A new day was breaking on the horizon.

And with the first light of dawn, Lucius knew, his story was far from over.

                                                       END OF VOLUME II

Thanks for reading so far, and stay tuned for the next Volume :) !