Mounds of dirt grew into small hills covered in rock and the sharp-edged stubble of long-dead plants. Cita could see no clear path, but Tennon pressed onward to higher hills. Soon, they all had cuts on their legs and hands.
Atora had walked with Tennon for a few miles, but now she slowed until she was at the end of the line with Cita. They continued in silence for a while, but Cita thought her companion looked bothered.
"Is there something wrong?" Cita asked and then gave a slight laugh. "Other than the obvious."
Atora looked amused. "Tennon knows what he is doing."
"It is good to know one of us does."
Atora's face grew somber again. "I don't want to fail. That's all."
Before Cita could reply, Atora moved off to join Urdo for a while.
Was she making her farewells? This coming battle would be the worst they had fought so far. Some of them might not survive. Cita wondered if she should do the same and apologize for bringing them here.
No. They could have walked away many times, even before Tennon suggested it. Now, with that green light shining brighter, it was not the time to abandon the work.
They walked on. Closer. Tennon looked back at them, but he said nothing. She had expected one more attempt to dissuade them, but maybe it was too late. Cita began to hear a high-pitched buzzing noise, but it did not come from the crystal orb that held the stone. That multi-faceted ball hovered over a black pedestal, and Cita had the impression of invisible chains holding it there.
The area was barren except for the crystal and stand, and piles of dark rocks that might have marked some boundary. Atora and Urdo crossed to the display, but a flicker of lightning played along an invisible wall that held them from getting any closer.
The buzzing got louder, and something the size of her hand swept in front of her face. Another followed.
Giant bees.
She swept one aside and down and prepared to slice it in half.
Tennon caught her arm. "While I appreciate your enthusiasm, maybe you could turn it to our enemies rather than allies."
She pulled back in haste. That's when she noticed the piles of rocks coming to life. They faced rock trolls, and the giant bees were already in battle with them.
Urdo moved to her side, and they had downed two trolls before she realized that neither Atora nor Tennon was helping. Tennon put his hands on the magic wall and destroyed it, and then quickly did the same to the crystal covering. Atora grabbed the stone as it tumbled.
"Go!" Tennon shouted.
Atora started out at a run, the wave of Tennon's hand Center up into the air and flying. She not only moved quickly, but she was also soon out of reach of the rock trolls.
If those rock trolls hadn't then turned on Cita and Urdo, she might have watched with delight. Atora looked as if she might have been born to fly.
Tennon, she saw, was face down on the ground and in danger of being trampled. She still had questions for the Godling, so she went to stand over and protect him. Urdo, as always, kept to her side and fought off two trolls. It was hard to battle rock with metal, but they both slashed at vulnerable spots around the joints.
Eventually, trolls began to fall. Unfortunately, Urdo and Cita had both suffered from serious injuries by then. Their only hope came when Tennon struggled back to his feet with the long shard of crystal in his hand. He drove that makeshift weapon straight into the back of the troll's head, and it fell dead without a sound. Another troll charged him and won the crystal straight through his heart. By then, Tennon had bad cuts on both his hands. That didn't stop him from charging toward the next group of ten trolls.
Cita and Urdo joined him. The bees swarmed in behind them, and the trolls didn't like bees either. That was probably because they headed straight for the creatures' eyes. Tennon took advantage of the blinded trolls and killed two more. Then the mage went back down to his knees, and it was all Cita and Urdo could do to keep them safe. None of them would last much longer. Except for the bees, there was no sign of any other allies. However, Cita could see more trolls coming at a run across the grasslands.
"Urdo, you should --"
"If you say one more thing about leaving -- drop!"
Cita threw herself flat on the ground as Urdo stabbed. The rock troll granted and maybe cursed before he fell and landed on Cita. It twitched once and then became a dead weight. Dead rock troll weight.
"Urdo --"
"Busy here."
Cita gasped out a curse and tried to pull herself out from under the body. She desperately tried to ignore the pain in her side. She had clawed about a hand's breadth forward when Urdo yelled a curse and fell over her and the dead troll.
And then the world went black.
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