Lifting the mage captive's staff towards the brightening sky to allow the smoky-grey stone to catch light, Seraphine quietly conjured up a spell - a simple one to manifest wind.
The moment she injected mana into the staff, something akin to mist swirled in the stone and unexpectedly amplified her mana. The resulting magic was less of a gentle wind but more like a small tempest, taking her aback. She swiftly severed her mana flow to disrupt the magic.
The surroundings returned to their quietness as she stared at the stone. Ominous feelings rose inside her.
****
The loud sound was followed by the sight of one of the tents catching fire. Armand stood up.
"Sir Kingsley..."
"Go." The old knight grunted.
Armand ran towards the blaze and found Dame Ardent and Sir Regulus exiting the tent while coughing, both of them covered in burns and various cuts.
"What happened?"
Dame Ardent coughed and spluttered. "The mage - she blew herself up. I'm sorry, Sir."
Sighing, Armand ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "How did she manage to cast magic in such a short time?"
"She - she had this ring with her, it has a stone similar to the one in her staff - it was one of the last things I haven't removed. I didn't notice that she was awake, and the moment I turned around -"
A coughing fit stopped Veronica from speaking. Armand raised his hand. "Don't worry about that for now. Dame Veronica, Sir Regulus, tend to your wound first." From the corner of his eye, he saw a figure of a young boy, hovering around while looking unsure. "Darryl, could you help them please?"
"Yes! Of course!"
Armand switched his focus to the burning tent, throwing dirt as much as he could to smother the fire. The flame came from magic and would supposedly dissipate after the caster's mana was exhausted. However, it was being unintentionally fed by flammable items and showed no sign of subsiding. He wondered if there would be anything they could salvage from the mage's body or belongings as evidence.
"Esika zeso."
Suddenly, drops of rain fell from the sky only on and around the tent, quickly becoming heavier until the flame gradually fizzled out. Armand glanced behind him and saw Seraphine approaching, her steel fan in hand.
"...thank you."
"Don't mind it." Seraphine stepped closer to examine the wreck. "..and the mage?"
Armand wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. "Dead, I presume."
"Sir Fontaine!"
Alarmed, Armand turned towards Sir Kingsley's voice. What he found was shocking as the old knight seemed to have been taken hostage, his own blade held against his neck by none other than Jerome, whose binding was nowhere to be found.
Cursing the old knight for his incompetence inwardly, Armand stepped forward cautiously. Seraphine studied the situation unfolding in front of her, noting Kingsley's slack posture and Jerome's trembling hand.
"...let Sir Kingsley go, Jerome. It's the end."
"No," Jerome's voice cracked. "I-I was only following orders. It wasn't my fault. Stay back! Drop your weapon!"
Armand quietly dropped the sword and raised his hand.
"What do you want, Jerome?" Although he sounded calm, Armand was frustrated inside. They had lost one captive, and if they let Jerome escape, they would lose another lead. Losing Sir Kingsley, the Archon's Knight Captain, was out of the question here, as it would risk a political issue between Dohara and the Temple.
The man's eyes looked frantic as they constantly darted from one side to another. "D-don't, don't try to follow me!" Dragging Sir Kingsley was no easy feat, but Jerome seemed to be operating on willpower as he moved towards the forest edge.
"Fine, but let Sir Kingsley go."
"Fine! Fine! Stay where you are, old man!"
Sir Kingsley stood still as Jerome released him and slowly stepped back. His sword was still pointed towards his back.
"Watch out!" Seraphine cried out in alarm. She hastily cast a wind spell strong enough to knock Sir Kingsley sideways, pushing him to the ground.
In that instant, an arrow shot through the air and embedded itself in Jerome's neck.
Everyone held their breath for a second before several things happened at once. Jerome, eyes wide in fear and disbelief, sputtered and gagged as he choked on his own blood, dropping to the ground. Armand rapidly recovered his sword and assisted Sir Kingsley, moving away from the precarious spot while putting up the holy barrier and scanning the surroundings for the attacker.
"Don't bother - they're gone." Seraphine took a deep breath. "Apologies, I should've sensed them earlier." She scolded herself inwardly for being distracted.
Armand was incredulous. In a matter of minutes, he had lost two captives, got two of his teammates injured, and one taken hostage and nearly died. Meanwhile, there was one, maybe even more attackers out there. He could not wrap his mind around how this had happened.
****
"So," Flint threw the last item into his rucksack. "We've lost both captives, and still had no idea where the children are."
Everyone was in a sour mood. Dame Ardent and Sir Regulus were injured in the blast, and although they claimed they could still proceed, it would be dangerous to explore the unknown cave in such condition. Armand sighed.
"Sir Regulus, Dame Ardent, stay here and keep an eye on the horses."
"Sir, we could still go on." Dame Ardent stated resolutely, accompanied by a strong nod from Sir Regulus.
Armand shook his head. "No. It's too much risk with the unknowns, and we need people to protect the horses. Darryl, Flint, you guys should also stay and protect the entrance."
Flint threw him an irritated look, but after a couple of seconds, he nodded while grumbling to himself.
This was why Armand liked travelling with Flint - they had a similar thought process. Now that he knew that this was not simply a missing case and that there would be active combat, he did not want to involve Darryl. But at the same time, he did not trust the Archon's knights, especially after what happened with Jerome Flagrant.
Darryl looked crestfallen, but did not question his decision. Armand took a brief look at Seraphine and Sir Kingsley. The mage did not seem troubled by him taking the command, while Sir Kingsley seemed to be lost in thought again.
He had debated for a quick second whether to leave Flint or Seraphine with Darryl, but he had a gut feeling that the woman knew more than she let on.
He took a deep breath.
"Let's go."