Bowman Part 4

“Why did you do it? Run out there alone, I mean. You could’ve been killed.” Atnem finally broke the silence. They had been standing there for hours, long enough for the sun to have set, and the stars to have come out. The guards had even fought off a pack of coyotes hunting in the night.
After another long pause, Chromys replied. “I can’t tell you that. It’s my problem. I don’t want to drag you into it, too.”
Atnem knew there was nothing he could say. This was the closest thing he would get to an answer, for now. So, they headed back to Camelot. They kept to the beaten path to avoid the bandit camps that were all too common, hidden in the trees at night.
Chromys stopped suddenly, causing Atnem to nearly run into him. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
“Shh! Quiet, listen.” A woman screamed in the woods.
Chromys sped off toward the source of the scream. Atnem had trouble keeping up. He nearly tripped over some roots, and struggled to keep himself from falling on his face.
They saw a flickering glow ahead. Atnem assumed it was a campfire, a bandit campfire. They heard another scream. It was definitely coming from the camp.
Chromys stopped and whispered to Atnem. “You climb a tree and have your bow ready. I’ll head in and distract them. Just try not to hit any non-hostiles.”
With this, Chromys tiptoed toward the camp. He seemed invisible under the shadows of the trees. Atnem took his place atop a tree branch. When should he shoot? How would he know when Chromys was ready for him?
A blinding flash came from the camp. “Well, that answers my question.” Since it was too dark to tell which creatures around the fire were bandits, Atnem shot at everything that moved, and prayed he didn’t hit the wrong thing.
By now, the bandits had started searching for the source of the flash. They ran around aimlessly as, one by one, they fell, by arrow and by blade. A few even fell into the fire. There was nothing they could do, as they were still blinded by the flash.
Two figures emerged from a tent. One was carrying the other, and both were heading toward Atnem. “It must be Chromys,” Atnem thought. He provided cover fire while Chromys dodged the few blows that were landing near their intended target.
“Come on!” Chromys yelled up at Atnem. He hopped from the tree and the two of them sped off, back to the path. “The guards should be on patrol near here right now. Hopefully we’ll run into them and they’ll get these thieves off of us.”
They ran back through the trees. The few bandits left were now aware of what was going on. They pursued through the forest. A few flaming arrows flew by Atnem’s head, all narrowly missed. The bandits were very close. Could they make it to the path?
Another light from up ahead, a torch perhaps, and conversation. It must have been the guards! Atnem shouted at them. The torch stopped moving, and the conversation quieted. The light began moving toward them. Yes, it was the guards, perfect!
“Bandits!” Chromys shouted, as they ran by the guards. They stopped, and Chromys set the woman down. Then, they turned around and joined the guards to confront the bandits.
There must have been at least ten bandits left. Only the five good guys to fight, three guards, Chromys, and Atnem. They were outnumbered, two to one. It would be a tough fight.
The five of them drew their swords and stood ready. The bandits neared. Apparently they’d run out of flaming arrows. Then, they heard a quiet chanting. The woman had walked past them toward the bandits, speaking some ancient language.
“Ceht, A fhuo kxuk oei xocf mo ke jmako kxojo veecj! Xocf mo ke fhekosk mo juluehj.” A ring of fire flew out from the woman’s body. It surrounded the six of them, and continued out further, hitting the bandits head on. They flew back and lie there, motionless. Atnem stared in awe. His mouth was hanging open.
“Wow, she’s hot!” Leave it to Chromys to kill the mood with a bad pun.
“Well.. I see you’ve got things taken care of.” A guard spoke, “We’ll be on our way.” They left without another word.
Atnem knew of Merlin. He knew of Wizards. He knew of their abilities. This, however, wasn’t one of them. This woman was different. What was she chanting? Why was she so much more powerful?