Virion arrived at the gate. The perabel guarding it took one look at him, nodded, and gave the signal to open the gate. The large iron doors swung open slowly as Virion drew his sword. The perabels had set up the bell system hoping that someone would be willing to step out and save the stragglers being pursued by warlock forces. So far, Virion had gone out thrice with no accompaniment.
Virion ran through the gate into the open field in front of the stronghold. He took in the scene before him. A perabel girl was running frantically toward the stronghold. She held a knife in her hand. She was scratched and bleeding in several places on her arms and legs and her face had a dangerous looking gash across it. Following closely behind her, two warlocks gave chase. They brandished lightning cloaked daggers and were slowly closing in on the perabel.
Virion sprinted towards her, shouting as he ran,
'Get to the stronghold! I'll hold them off!'
As he neared her, Virion leaped at one of the warlocks who had come within striking distance of the girl. He blocked the warlock's strike, batting his dagger away with his sword, and kicked him. The warlock tumbled backwards into the dirt. Virion assumed a wide stance and faced his two enemies down. He would not let them pass.
The warlock to his left fired a bolt of lightning at him. Virion caught it on his blade and dissipated it. The second warlock came rushing at him. Virion parried his thrust and dodged backward as the first warlock had suddenly rushed in. The second warlock raised his arms, summoning the wind with magic that swept up dust, blinding Virion.
He instinctively raised his sword and managed to catch the first warlock's blade before it connected. He kicked blindly and hit nothing as the wind was suddenly knocked out of him. The first warlock had landed a punch to his gut. Virion knew what was coming next. He quickly summoned his magic to shield himself as the warlock conducted large amounts of electricity through his body. Virion and the warlock were blown backward by the force of the spells clashing. Virion's sword flew off in a random direction.
He stood up groggily to see the second warlock running towards him, dagger in hand. Virion side-stepped his attack and grabbed his arm and neck simultaneously. In one smooth move, Virion tripped the warlock and slammed him into the ground.
The warlock began frantically struggling against Virion's grip reaching for his dagger which had left his hand and had fallen a few feet away. Virion grabbed the dagger and slit the warlock's neck causing his thrashing to come to a halt. He quickly turned as the first warlock came rushing at him, holding a dagger and Virion's sword. He slashed wildly with both weapons forcing Virion to slowly back away. His relentless onslaught gave no opening. The warlock managed to cut Virion's arms and shoulders with his wild slashing, opening wide gashes. Cursing under his breath, Virion struggled to block or dodge his slashes.
A knife hurtled through the air and struck the warlock in the left shoulder. Virion took the opening and stepped to the right as the warlock cried out in pain, unable to move his left arm. Virion promptly disarmed him and thrust the dagger through the warlock's heart. He let his limp body fall to the ground. He picked up his sword, panting slightly, and turned to see the perabel girl, her knife now embedded in the warlock's shoulder.
She was tall and lithe with short, uneven brown hair. She had probably cut it short herself with her knife. Her eyes were a strange amber-gold color, and her upper lip was bruised and swollen, presumably from a scuffle as she was trying to escape the warlocks.
She wore baggy traveling clothes, and a large rucksack was swung across her shoulders. Her face and clothes were caked with grime and dirt and she bled profusely from injuries on her arms and legs. Virion looked down at his own bleeding arms, multiple cuts opened in them by the crazy warlock.
'We should get treated.', he said. The girl simply stared at him with an empty look in her eyes.
'Let's get inside.', he said as he walked towards her.
She suddenly collapsed. He rushed forward and caught her, preventing her from falling face-first into the ground. The perabel guards at the gate rushed towards them and took her off his hands.
'Well done, Salor.', said one of the guards. 'Let's get to the hospital. You should get those arms looked at.'
'Yeah... I know', said Virion gruffly. He stepped forward and his vision began to swim. The magic bolt from earlier had taken more out of him to block than he thought. As he took another step, his vertigo worsened, and he collapsed to the floor...
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