Ravenswood Ch. 12

Carl studied the Terrians standing in a group; their long sandy colored cloaks shrouded their forms and shielded them from the wind. Suddenly, a cloak caught a breeze and flew open revealing something new, a longer weapon, one Carl had not seen before.

Heretofore, battles with Terrians were more balanced, with guardians having a slight advantage using the energy of the weave. This new weapon presented a challenge. Was there only one? Did they all have them? What were they capable of?

The Terrian group clustered together and looked at a map. Then they pointed in the direction of the Tavern. Carl motioned for Seth to keep watch as he slid back down the short hill that hid them from the marauders. He motioned to a colleague to join him. Sasha slid down to join him. She trained with him, she was tough and determined, and he liked to have her by his side. But this time he needed her to deal with the Tavern patrons, something she needed to do if the marauders slipped past the guardians. He knew he could rely on her.

"Evacuate the Tavern, Sasha, then warn the village," he whispered. "They have new weapons, ones I have never seen before. I don't know if they all have them or only one. Tell Yaol to send reinforcements." She nodded and disappeared in a weave of energy.

Carl crawled back to his team. The marauders hadn't moved yet, he wondered why? Were they waiting for someone? Who? The traitor rumored in the village? He decided that the team couldn't wait any longer. He motioned for Seth to keep watch as he gathered the team below.

"Who or what they are waiting for doesn't matter anymore, we have to make our move now. Sasha went to warn the village and evacuate the Tavern. Danika, go with Seth and circle to the right." She nodded and began move up to join Seth. Carl reached out and grabbed her ankle. "Wait a minute, he whispered to Danika. "Aaron, come with me to the left. They have new weapons, ones I've not seen before, and I have no idea what they are capable of, so be cautious." They nodded solemnly as Danika moved slowly back up to join Seth. A moment later, she and Seth disappeared as an energy band enveloped them.

Once they were in place, Carl and his team lashed out with the energy of the weave, hoping to ensnare the Terrians rather than engage them head-on. Two of the marauders pulled out their new weapons and flipped a switch. The blade glowed with an electrical charge as they sliced against the energy bands, breaking them apart. They handled these new weapons awkwardly, as if they were wielding something new and untested.

Maura would eat them alive, Carl thought. He'd seen her practicing behind Vera's cottage one day when he came looking for Lisa. Her blade work was spectacular; he meant to ask her if she would be willing to take on an apprentice. Now he regretted not pursuing that thought.

He shouted at his team. "Forget trying to ensnare, subdue them any way you can!"

The two soldiers without the new weapons fell almost immediately as energy bands slashed through them like a hot knives through butter. The remaining two, the leader and another grizzly-faced veteran, continued to battle, weaving their new swords like whirling dervishes at the energy that slashed away at them.

The guardians began to close ranks, hurling balls of energy towards the remaining marauders. Seth launched an energy ball low towards the group leader, and the marauder lost his footing. Danika charged him with another band of energy slicing at his shoulders. The band found its mark and severed his arms, his new weapon clattered to the ground as his head exploded from the impact of another blast of energy from her teammate, Seth.

The remaining soldier, his cloak smoldering from repeated attacks from Carl and his teammate Aaron, dropped his weapon and stood defiantly as if waiting for the final blow.

Looking more like a hardened criminal than a Terrian marauder, he was encircled with another weave of energy meant to capture not destroy. He sat dejected on the ground, surrounded by guardians.

They began to question him rigorously. How did they know where to find the rent in the fabric of the weave? How did they manage to evade the barrier? Who brought them through? Who were they looking for? Were there others joining them?

Slowly, as the guardians questioned the marauder, a name emerged from their interrogation. It was unbelievable, a council member and a master weaver? How could that be? But the marauder was adamant, the name he heard from his leader was of a woman, named...Xylia.

Carl turned to his team. "Keep this information secret until inquiries have been made." They nodded silently as they continued to watch the lone marauder. In a flash, Yaol and a band of guardians appeared with a whoosh. Yaol stepped over and clapped Carl on his back. "Good work, son," he muttered as he bent down and retrieved the new weapon from the ground. He examined it closely, flipping the switch on and off. He tossed it to a colleague.

"Bring this along and give it to the 'doctor'," he growled as two of his other colleagues grabbed the remaining marauder by the arms and pulled him to his feet. Energy bands enveloped the entire group and they vanished leaving the wheat field silent except for the singing of birds and the buzz of insects.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

The author copyrights Ravenswood and all of its parts. The reproduction of any part of Ravenswood without the written permission of the author is expressly prohibited. This story is a work of fiction. All of the characters, their names and the places they visit, are from the imagination of the author. Any resemblance to persons, places, or things is not intentional and purely coincidental.