Chapter 295

295 Ambush(Part Two)

*** CONTENT WARNING: LANGUAGE AND GORE***

“Highlanders! Defensive positions!” Tidas called out to his soldiers.

Skye’s head whipped about as she looked back at the group of men that were now essentially chasing them. She wanted to try and sort out her theory about Tidas, but it would have to wait. The Highlanders were gaining fast, and Skye was already where she needed to be..

The nearly vertical walls of the mountain pass were much smoother than she had expected them to be. As soon as she came close enough, Skye pulled Thoth to the side, and dragged her hand across the rock walls as they ran. It was painful, but she had experienced much worse when she’d made Tidas’ armor.

She grunted as the rocks peeled chunks of her flesh away at a rapid pace, but Skye just healed it as she continued to drive Thoth at his maximum speed. She’d stopped funneling her power to him as soon as they had entered the pass, much to Tidas’ relief.

He had to pour quite a bit of his magic into his own horse just to keep pace with Skye. Tidas had moved to the right side of her to get a clear look ahead, and was amazed by what he saw..

Huge chunks of the mountains’ walls were bending like a card on one side, creating half the ‘roof’ that Skye was aiming for. Dust and small rocks flew into their faces, stinging their exposed skin like wasps as they raced by.

Tidas couldn’t tell how far she’d made the half tunnel, but if was past what his eyes could see. The amount of magic she was pouring out was mind boggling.. As he turned to look at his wife and congratulate her, Tidas saw the continuous line of blood she was making by dragging her hand..

“Skye stop! Your hand!” he screamed over the thunderous sounds coming from the horses’ hooves as they beat against the ground.

.....

“I can’t! It Has to be done this way! Unless ye would prefer me to do it while standin’ still!” Skye yelled in response.

She urged Thoth gently, kicking at his side with the stirrup. The half tunnel was nearly finished about three-fourths the way down the pass. As Skye monitored her magic levels, she realized that she needed to switch sides.

The walls were becoming more broken and jagged the farther in to the mountains they went. If she didn’t switch sides now, then she would have to stop to finish it.

While signaling Tidas to drop back a bit, Skye noticed a few pebbles bouncing off of her shoulder as she cleared the shadow from the half tunnel. She looked up in just enough time to grab and yank on the reins to Tidas’ horse. Effectively saving him from being crushed by a boulder..

Suddenly, the sky above them was filled with rocks and boulders. She ducked, dodged, and weaved; avoiding a goodly chuck of them while pushing Tidas into the completed side..

Whipping her head back, Skye watched at least four soldiers get taken out. One was instantly crushed, another ran straight into the boulder that had crushed the first, and two were knocked from their horses and trampled..

“Everyone! Thin out! Stay under the half tunnel!” Skye yelled, surprised by how loud she could be when she needed to be.

The soldiers instantly shifted from four across, to two; all riding directly underneath the half tunnel. The minerals that made up the mountains was strong. It had sporadic pockets of iron, making the top of Skye’s tunnel able to withstand any rocks thrown their way.

The Highlanders persisted in their bombardment, but only minor injuries were had, and only a few. The only problem that they were having was that Skye couldn’t get over to the other side to touch the wall..

‘If I could just touch it for three seconds, I could make enough to cover me, then start a chain reaction of sorts.. What do I do?! If I could just figure out how to use me Earth trait like I do me Water, this wouldn’t be an issue!’

Skye didn’t need to touch water to influence it with her magic. It was her birth trait, and the one she had used since she’d gotten magic. It wasn’t like the rest of her traits where she had to figure out how to use it.

Water magic was just...natural to her. It had required no effort to ‘master’ because she had to build her capacity for it; taking years to bolster and refine it. All of her other traits were equal in power to her Water magic when she’d awakened them.

Essentially: it was akin to handing a bazooka to a five year old.

Every time Skye gained a new trait, it felt like her body was trying to explode. Power surged and mauled her from the inside, threatening to escape in any way it could.

As Skye frantically tried to assess the situation, the random string of thoughts began to align..

She used her Shaman and Tank traits together often; using one to reinforce the other in a constant flow. She’d never thought about it before now, but Skye theorized that her Shaman magic literally flowed through her via her blood.

If her blood contained traces of her Shaman power, then she could connect her Earth magic to it. It would be like she was touching the rocks herself, but using her blood as the point of contact. Manic mages put traces of their blood on their weapons to control them. Like what the assassin from the first Mage Trials that tried to kill Magnus had done.

Putting theory into practice, Skye rode to the very edge of the shadow created by the half tunnel. She lifted her sword out of it’s sheath, sliced her hand, then flicked her wrist towards the targeted wall..

At first, she felt nothing.. Then a warm sensation fluttered across her heart. Skye pulled the soothing, dense magic that was her Earth trait up to her heart, then mingled it with her Shaman magic. When the two powers finally coalesced, she felt her Earth magic rapidly being channeled out of her.

The ground underneath them trembled as the wall started to shift. It almost looked like a wave as it bent and folded until it meshed together with the other side. As the soldiers watched with awe, they began to cheer and chant Skye’s name..

************

“Clever lassie,” Murdoc stated as one of his men reported to him.

He knew that Tidas’ wife had multiple traits, but he hadn’t heard of her being powerful enough to reshape mountains ranges. The thought was actually a little scary, but fear was simply a form of instinct, and Murdoc always trusted his..

Looking over at a group of his men, he said; “When we fight the traitorous scum, mix in with the Southerners! We don’t want their lassie openin’ up a hole in the ground!”

One of his men asked if an Alconian Princess would even care about the other soldiers. Murdoc chuckled at the man’s barb before he replied; “Usually ye would be spot on, but not this wee woman..”

“She’s Moonstone’s daughter, and wasna born, nor treated like royalty. She’s the one they call ‘Eir’, and she’s known to be kind.. She even helped out the boarder town villagers when the Southerners stayed there last night.”

Drexel scoffed loudly so everyone could hear; “Shoulda killed them then! Waitin’ is gonna cost us lives now!”

Murdoc narrowed his eyes at the weasel of a man; “And what of the boarder townfolk? Fuck them and their lives, eh? Canna fight, so they be worthless to ye.. right? Ha!”

Drexel’s temper flared; “They didna put up a single protest! They just let the Southerners stay! They be traitors to their own-”

“Bite yer tongue, ye damn fool! What did ye expect?! Tis mostly young and old folk there. Did ye really think they were gonna fight off hundreds of mages by themselves?! ..Fuckin’ idiot.”

Murdoc watched as Drexel stammered, then stomped away to take his position. He loved getting under the bastard’s skin, and hoped that it would result in him slipping up. So far he hadn’t, but Murdoc was loving trying to get him to.

Drexel only cared about those whom could do things for him, and not the Highlanders in general. He talked a good game, so many were fooled by his charisma, but Murdoc knew better. The man would sell his own mother if he could.

Murdoc felt certain that the fool would try something, and soon.. ‘Let the bastard try. It’ll gimme the excuse I need ta kill’em’.

As a small smile touched his lips, one of his men reported that the Alconians were nearly through the pass. His smile widened into a broad grin as he said; “Send them a wee bit of tough love to thin out their numbers..”

The Highlander smirked; “Aye, sir!”

************

Tidas was astonished by Skye’s capabilities again. She was so fast at critical thinking that it was almost scary. As she galloped along beside him, he reached over, and tapped her leg. When she looked at him, he beamed at her as he yelled; “You’re incredible!”

Skye smiled broadly at him, then screamed; “Gotta catch up to you!”

Tidas chuckled, then turned his attention back to the mountain pass. The small section that Skye couldn’t finish without draining herself was quickly coming into view. As they cleared the end of Skye’s tunnel, he looked around, then up..

When Tidas saw the Highlanders triggering a landslide half a mile away, he called out to Skye. He said the word, then pointed at the rocks tumbling down from a ridiculously tall cliff side. Skye nodded, and charged ahead. She pulled her legs up and in, then pushed herself up to stand on top of Thoth as she rode the beast.

His hooves crashed down onto the ground as she raced towards the falling rocks with an impish smile. As she barreled down the final stretch of the pass, Skye didn’t slow as the chaos came raining down from above her.

Skye flicked her injuried hand with gusto; sending blood splattering against it all..

Releasing a massive burst of her Earth magic, Skye sent the landslide back into the air. Raining rocky hell down onto the men who had just attempted to do the same. She burst through to the other side with a grin, only to have it die on her lips.

A large army of at least two-thousand Highlanders was waiting for them. As soon as Skye had come into view, the massive force rushed down the steep hillsides; their horses clearly used to the bumpy terrain. They screamed their war cry as Tidas came through with his less than eight-hundred men...