A Mage’s Resolve

“No way… that’s a fucking hobgoblin!” Kira gasped, her breath hitching. Her hands clung tightly to the back of Gwen’s shirt.

The hobgoblin sat upon the rubble of a destroyed building and stared at her, a slight, mocking smirk on its face.

“Arug!” it roared.

“Gaharuh!” the goblins shouted back, their voices echoing around the village. At once, they charged toward her, their feet pounding against the stone with every step.

Gwen gripped her staff tightly. “Go! Hide until I tell you it is safe!”

“But…” Kira tried to argue.

“I said go!”

Gwen felt the grip on her hoodie loosen and disappear. With Kira out of the way, she focused on the charging goblins. Rasing and the tip glowed orange as heat radiated around her.

The moment the first goblins came within reach, she thrust her staff forward.

Three streaks of flames shot from her staff, piercing the frontline and reducing five goblins to ash. Gwen forced more magic into the attack, holding it for another couple of seconds before the strain became too much.

She barely had time to catch her breath before she was forced to duck underneath a spear thrust toward her head.

The goblin spun the weapon around with some skill, striking again almost immediately.

Gwen leaned to the side, barely avoiding the spear, but a burning pain shot through her side. A goblin’s sword sliced through her hoodie, cutting her flesh while she was distracted by the creature holding the spear.

She clicked her teeth, stumbling backwards as blood soaked into the white fabric.

The goblin lunged again.

Gwen caught the blade with the middle of her staff, and she twisted, using all of her strength to force the weapon to the side.

At that moment, the goblin with the spear rushed in.

The sword dug into its neck, instantly killing it. Before the goblin could pull its weapon out of its fallen comrade's neck, Gwen shoved the tip of her staff into the monster's head and cast a Fire Arrow, reducing its head to ash.

She twirled her staff once more, ignoring the pain flaring through her side. She sent a volley of fire arrows forward, burning another group of goblins.

The goblins behind them reacted immediately, leaping onto the rooftops and racing across the buildings to avoid the fire.

Huh, smarter than what I expected.

Gwen stopped the spell and threw herself sideways, dodging several arrows that struck the cobblestone where she’d been standing just a moment before.

Fifteen goblins remained, not including the hobgoblin.

“Arguq!” a goblin roared. With its scream, another volley of arrows filled the air.

Gwen backstepped to avoid the arrows and ended up running into a sword. The weapon sliced across her arm, immediately drawing a hiss of pain. She spun, releasing another bolt made of flames that killed two more goblins.

Gwen glanced toward the gate where Kira was hiding, catching a flash of the girl’s pale face, looking guilty.

I just need to hold them off, Gwen thought, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Gwen knew she was barely holding on.

Her movements began to grow sluggish, decreasing along with her magic. Even her flaming arrows lacked the speed they had at the start of the battle, giving the goblins enough time to leap onto rooftops and avoid the fire.

With archers pining down from above and swordsmen closing in below, she was running out of room to dodge.

Even then, Gwen continued fighting. She twisted around a spear thrust, ducked beneath another sword, then stumbled as a slash cut across her back. She gritted her teeth, refusing to let out a scream.

Gwen managed to find an opening and kill a few goblins close to her. Twelve goblins remained, with four of them using bows.

***

Kira dropped her bag down to the ground and quickly dug through it. Shit bit her lip, barely stopping herself from screaming. Shit, I should have thought about buying potions before coming out today, she thought internally.

Clothes, dried food, rope… Finally, her finger closed around a black sphere. She grabbed one of the goblin’s fallen swords and tightened her grip.

This smoke bomb should give us enough cover for me to save Gwen before things get worse.

Kira rose to her feet, her legs shaking violently. She had never fought before, but she couldn’t leave Gwen behind. Especially not after she went out of her way to save Kira’s life.

Kira took a deep breath.

“I can do this,” she whispered. “Just got to throw the bomb and save the boss.”

Kira moved to light the smoke bomb when she glanced up to see Gwen moving as if she had gotten a surge of energy. Her silver hair steamed behind her as she moved to dodge the attack, a green and yellow glow surrounding her.

Gwen slid to a stop, spinning her staff around. She released a rapid volley of flaming arrows without even saying anything. The spells shot forward, killing the archers with ease, without them having a chance to even retaliate.

“ARG!” the remaining goblins yelled, dropping down off the roof.

Gwen pivoted, dodging the downward strike from a sword. Whirling around, she blocked a spear thrust aimed at her back. With ease, she flicked her wrist and sent the spear crashing to the ground.

She stepped into the goblin's guard, ramming the bottom end of the staff into the goblin's head, the wooden tip going through its jaw and out the top of its skull.

Gripping her staff with both hands, she spun around, sending the body into a group, knocking them down. She twirled the staff around and tapped the earth. The ground shook violently before a wave of fire burst upward, burning another and leaving a crater in the ground.

Kira felt nothing but shock. She had seen- hell, she had never even heard of a spellcaster being able to fight like this. No wonder her sister said she trusted Gwen to protect even though she had no party members.

All the goblins lay dead, or in ashes at her feet.

Gwen didn’t breathe heavily, nor did the energy floating around her stop. She just turned to the hobgoblin. Even from here, she could feel the heat rising, as an orange aura mixed in with the yellow and green.

“Finally, a human that can give me a good bout!” the hobgoblin roared. It stood up, grabbing the club next to its feet. Its steps were heavy as it charged forward.

“Fire arrow!” Gwen shouted. A wave of energy pulsed from her as a giant arrow made of flames shot forward.

One moment the hobgoblin was happily ready to fight; the next its entire body was engulfed in flames, turning it to ash.

“No…no fucking Boss just killed a hobgoblin that easily.” Kira gasped, a shiver going through her body.

She watched as Gwen slowly turned around, a visage of a woman wrapped around her body before it all disappeared. Like a puppet without its strings, Gwen dropped to the ground, all the power and its pressure disappearing.

Kira hurriedly put her weapons back into her bag and rushed forward. Quickly covering the distance between her and Gwen in less than a few seconds. Immediately, she dug into her bag and pulled out bandages.

“Forgive me, boss; we’ll just have to get you a new jacket.” She muttered. Using a claw, she cut away all of her clothing.

“Stop! We must clean the wounds lest they get infected.” An older feminine voice said.

Kira paused in her action and looked up. A woman dressed in white, giving off the feeling of a grandmother, appeared next to her. Kira flinched and moved to attack when the older lady held up her hand.

“There’s no need to panic; I’m the leader of the village.” She said, a serious look coming across her face. “We can talk more once we get your friend to a better, cleaner location so we can work on healing her.”

Kira debated with herself for a moment before nodding. “I can carry her myself… just show me where I can take her.”

The older lady tapped her staff against the ground. “Good, just follow me this way.” She spun and began to walk away.

Kira hurriedly picked up Gwen and followed after, shocked at how fast the old lady could go despite her age.

I hope I don’t come to regret this. With the boss knocked out, if this village decides to attack us, I don’t think I could fend them off. She thought to herself.

Worry was eating her alive as she walked past villagers who looked at them with slight awe.