Unexpected Combat

Calum stared at the looming elemental in disbelief. “What’s an elemental doing in the northern region?”

“Doesn’t matter, we have to kill it!” Erik pulled out his sword and charged at the creature.

“Erik, be careful!” Tilaya called, bringing his attention to the side swing the elemental was attempting.

He sliced through the thick dirt of the elemental’s arm that was crashing toward him. The impact nearly knocked him over.

The elemental roared. Dirt swirled around its arm, replacing what was lost almost instantly.

“Cutting off its limbs won’t do anything!” Kia called. “The only way a blade can harm it is to go for its core.”

“If only I still had my staff…” Tilaya groaned, looking at her hands.

Calum held his sword firmly. “Tilaya, I have a plan.” He leaned in and whispered to her.

Her eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

“Very. This is our greatest chance of winning.” Calum turned his attention back to the elemental. Erik was fighting from the front, and Kia was sneaking in from behind. She twirled her daggers in her hand, preparing to strike.

Calum rushed into the fray. Tilaya placed a magical enchantment on his sword, causing it to radiate a bright yellow. He charged at the arm Erik was not keeping busy. He cut through it like butter, but the arm grew back the moment he cut it off. The dirt from the lost arms rejoined the body, increasing the elemental’s size.

“It’s growing!” Erik shouted.

“We see that!” Tilaya yelled back.

Calum continued his onslaught of attacks, never giving the elemental a chance to fully regrow its arm. He glanced over his shoulder to see Erik struggling to fight off the other arm. A foot landed on his shoulder and pushed off.

“Sorry Calum!” Kia jumped above the elemental. It tilted its head up toward her and lifted the arm Erik was fighting. She dive-bombed the elemental, daggers outstretched. Before the solidified dirt of the elemental’s extremity could slam into her, she drove through its body. Her blades pierced through a large ball of energy, and she landed safely on the ground behind the enemy.

The elemental roared, and the dirt forming the body rose higher in the sky. Instead of a humanoid shape, the dirt formed into a cloud around the ball of energy.

“Tilaya, it’s up to you now!” Calum exclaimed, readying his sword to block any projectiles the monster may throw.

“It won’t work. It’s too far!”

Bolts of highly concentrated dirt and small rocks shot down from the elemental. Calum blocked the ones that were aimed at him. “Just trust me!”

Tilaya clenched her teeth. She picked up a nearby stick and placed multiple enchantments on it and set it ablaze. With all her might, she threw the stick. Just as she predicted, the stick fell short.

Erik followed Calum’s example and used his heavy sword to block the attacks. Kia, on the other hand, stayed light on her feet, gracefully dodging the bolts that were coming down at her.

Calum blocked another bolt and launched himself in the air. Using the flat side of his sword, he swung at the stick, launching it toward the elemental in the sky. It flew at its target with newfound speed. The stick pierced through the dirt protecting the core and struck the ball of energy.

The creature wailed one last time before the dirt forming its body dropped to the ground, covering Calum, Erik, and Kia.

“You did it, Tilaya!” Calum jumped in celebration. He froze when he gazed upon his friend.

She sat on her knees, gripping at her chest. Blood oozed under her hand. She smiled weakly and fell over.

“Tilaya!” He rushed to her side and crouched down by her.

Erik and Kia heard the wail and whipped around. They ran to join Calum at Tilaya’s side.

“Tilaya! What happened?” Erik panicked.

Tilaya removed her hand from her chest, revealing a two-inch hole. Dirt surrounded the wound, wet with blood. “I’m… sorry…”

Tears formed in Calum’s eyes. “No, Tilaya… Don’t talk like that, you’re going to be fine. You’re going to be fine…” He sat at her side, unable to do anything. A hand touched his shoulder and Calum turned to see Kia looking at him.

“I can help. Just stand back.” She stood up and extended her arms out with her palms facing the sky. She started whispering in a language foreign to Calum.

“No!” Erik pushed Kia.

Her chanting stopped as she fell to the ground. She blinked and looked up at Erik.

“You were about to kill her, weren’t you!?” He glared at her, a hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “I won’t let you.”

“Erik, stop!” Calum jumped between Erik and Kia. “She was trying to help.”

“You trust her too much, Calum. I may not know the language, but I know what it sounds like. She was chanting in the demonic tongue!”

Kia flinched away. “I-It’s just a spell…”

“Just a spell? It’s not just any spell. That’s an evil spell!” He pulled out his greatsword and glared at Kia.

“Erik, enough!” Calum yelled. “You never trusted her. We have a chance of saving Tilaya and because of that you’re throwing it away!”

Erik paused. His body relaxed and he sheathed his sword. “You’re right… I should at least wait and see before I make any rash decisions…” He looked back at Tilaya, who was grimacing. “If it’s to save her… I’ll let my suspicions go this once.” He stepped back, looking apologetically at Kia.

Kia slowly got up. Relief flooded her body when Erik resigned his aggressive behavior. She resumed her quiet chant. Light materialized around her hands and slowly approached Tilaya’s wound.

The bleeding slowed to a stop and the wound began to close. Once it had completely closed, Tilaya opened her eyes and sat up. “I’m fine…?” She inspected the wound, finding no trace of it ever existing other than the blood that had already poured out.

Calum and Erik hugged her, tears streaming down their cheeks. Not of anguish, but of joy.

Calum turned to Kia. “Thank you for saving her…”

She dipped her head in response. “I’m glad I can be of assistance.”

Tilaya carefully stood. “You’re the one that saved me, Kia?”

“Yes. Though I don’t–” She was cut off by the surprise of Tilaya hugging her.

“Thank you. Thank you so much!”

Kia was too stunned to respond.

Calum laughed, no longer worrying about his childhood friend. “Now that you’re better, we shouldn’t stay here any longer. The battle might’ve attracted some monsters.”

Erik stared at Tilaya, filled with several different emotions.

Calum put his arm around Erik. “She’s fine, Erik. No need to worry any longer.”

“But I almost stopped her from receiving the help she needed…”

“That’s behind us. This just shows that Kia is trustworthy, right?”

“Maybe she is…” He watched Tilaya and Kia laugh together. “Right, we should get moving.”

Calum pulled out his map and found their location. “There’s a town next to the road. We should be able to reach it by tomorrow evening. Is everyone ready?” Once everyone confirmed, he put his map away. “Then let’s go.”