Chapter 3:C - The Last Stand
The icy winds blew the leaves around Col and Bastian. While they took Colley's equipment they began to shiver. Not even a minute had passed when they found their movement had slowed down considerably. They could see their own breath when not minutes prior they barely needed a cloak. This wind was unnatural. It was not on their side. Col's shouts went unheeded by the others to come to them. Meanwhile Bastian devised a plan. To set fire to the leaves around them. But would it work? If he could pull it off and ignite a few leaves, perhaps the wind would blow the fire even larger. They were running out of time.
Bastian took his flint and steel out. He proceeded to strike them, making sparks fly toward the leaves around them. The wind howled and swirled about. It was unclear whether or not he could actually start a fire in the midst of this icy wind.
Lorenzo yelled to Col about trust and purposed it in his mind to flee the scene. He was well aware of his own handicaps. However, as he began to take charge over Merlin, Lorenzo found him completely unwilling to move.
Not one inch. Merlin was remaining as close as he could to the key-stone Marque was fascinated by.
Marque attempted to interact with the warmth he felt from the stone for some time. He faintly heard the sounds of his allies and the winds. However, the warmth of the stone consumed him. It was a comforting feeling and he never wanted to let go. He began to search deep within himself for all the joy within his life he had ever experienced. A war raged within him. A war between the death around and the love he experienced before. The stone helped draw out these feelings and Marque resonated with them. Suddenly the keyhole began to glow under Marque's hand in a brilliant orange-red light.
Marque could feel the stone beginning to shake ever so slightly. Something was happening. he could only speculate as to what exactly. Merlin and Martyrdom didn't seem very surprised. They moved even closer to the stone and its' warmth. A welcome contrast to the icy wind. Even Lorenzo could feel the warmth now.
Col and Bastian shook from the cold that whipped through their clothes. Afterward, the wind did something strange. It tossed all the leaves up high into the air. They began to descend as if something that held them had let them go at the same time. The leaves danced and twirled all around the two until they rested upon the ground. It was eerily quiet for a few seconds. Then they both heard the crunching of leaves in the trees before the clearing they were in. About two dozen Wolfborn. They were waiting for
something. An order? A signal?
Then a single red leaf descended ever so slowly directly in front of Col and Bastian. Twirling in the windless air. It landed softly upon the other leaves. That's when every Wolfborn advanced toward the two isolated companions. As they approached, Col recognized the one he had done battle with the night before. The left side of its face was still slashed. Its eye useless. But it moved with a purpose toward the squire. The beast's intentions were apparent..
There still was a gap between the stone, Col, and Bastian. No Wolfborn blocked their path. Bastian worked franticly to set fire to the leaves around them with flint and steel. Sparks flew in the air. Col took up a defensive position behind the physician with Colley's shield. If he died he would die fighting. They were both cold and moved slower then before the wind.
When the beasts perceived the sparks from Bastian they charged forward toward the group. For their size, they moved very fast. Closer and closer they advanced. Massive creatures with no other purpose then to extinguish life. Martydom howled in anguish upon seeing them. Within a few seconds they would be overtaken. That's when in a final strike of desperation, Bastian's flint and steel ignited a clump of leaves in front of him. Those leaves caught ablaze alarmingly quickly. It spread for a good few feet around in less then seconds. The Wolfborn skidded to a halt at the sight mere feet from the two.
If they did not move quickly they would be burned. If they moved too quickly they would be mauled. Was their journey to end in this field of death?