chapter 20: Battle in the village (2)

Liam's consciousness returned in fragments, his head beating against his skull like a war drum. The smell of burnt wood and iron hung in the air. He opened his eyes slowly, taking in his shocking surroundings.

Around him, the villagers knelt their heads down, tears flowing from their eyes, silent. Their otherwise neat night garments were now torn and shredded into pieces. Some of them lay on the ground unconscious. He knelt up, clutching his still ringing head, trying to recall what had happened.

The mage… He thought.

A scream tore through the silence, tearing him out of his stupor. He stared at the origin. A woman was being dragged from the villagers by what he could only call a savage. He was large and muscular, his body branded with an image of a dragon curling around an axe. He wore an eye patch on his left eye, his right glinting with greed. He licked his lips as he pulled the girl through the floor, dragging her to a group of other bandits.

The girl tried fighting back, kicking him repeatedly. She screamed at the villagers to help, but none of them dared look up. They all instead began crying even fiercely, some clutching their hands in prayer

Liam tried standing up, wanting to go help the girl, but he was unable to. A thick rope bound his hands and feet together, restricting his movement. The girl's screams intensified as she was thrown on the floor, the bandits surrounding her laughing. Liam began gnawing at the rope seeking freedom to help the girl, but it was useless; the rope was too thick.

Suddenly, a raspy voice tore through the girl's scream, halting the bandits in place.

"Try spoiling the sacrifice, and we'll use your body as a substitute," a figure clad in dark robes said.

The bandits turned to the voice, frowns marking their faces, and with reluctance, they stepped back. Liam turned to the figure, his eyes widening. In front of him was the same mage who had captured him. He walked hunched back towards the group, grabbing the girl and putting her back with the villagers. He raised his staff, and a rope lying at her feet wound around her hands.

All of a sudden, multiple robe figures appeared. They all wore red and black robes, carrying in hand a staff with a red jewel. The earlier robe went to the group and knelt down before one. Liam stared at the figure. He was taller than the rest; his robes were lined with some sort of golden material. His staff was much larger, faint red particles swirling above it.

"Have the sacrifices been prepared?" He asked, his voice deep and eerie.

"Yes, master, they have." The bowing mage replied.

"Good, lead them to the circle." He said. He slammed his staff to the ground and the mages disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.

The mage stood turning towards the group of bandits. 

"You heard him bag them and take them to the magic circle." He said.

The bandits nodded, rushing, placing woven sacks on top of the heads of the villagers. Liam let it happen as he felt the rough texture of the cloth on top of his head. He left a tug on the rope, forcing him up he was then pulled forward, but he couldn't walk as his legs were bound, so he and the other villagers were forced into hopping.

When the sack was removed, Liam and other villagers found themselves in the middle of a huge forest clearing. The air here was fresh with the smell of grass, unlike the burning village, which they had just left behind. L

Liam looked around searching for any signs of where he might be, but it was for naught. All he knew was that he was in the forest near the village. Around them, five massive stone pillars rose out of the ground, marked with magic symbols. In front of them, a raised platform where the robed figures stood. There were twenty of them, excluding the leader, but they weren't the only enemies.

On the pillar, a large figure sat, chewing on a large slab of raw meat. He carried a large broadsword on his back. His body full of scars, the largest one ran from his right eye, through his face up to his belly.

The bandit leader, Liam thought. Suddenly, a grunt could be heard from the edge of the forest. More robed figures came through together with bandits, although some of them had grievous injuries; how they were still standing he didn't know.

The figure they were dragging Liam recognized all too well. It was his magic teacher. His eyes widened in surprise seeing the state of his teacher. His body was marked with wounds and cuts. His right arm had been turned into a stump from which red blood flowed. His once pristine glasses had been shattered.

He lumbered forward as he was pushed towards the altar. The Bandit leader stood up from his place, a large grin plastered in his face.

"Well, well, well finally caught ya, ya bloody rat." He said in a gruff voice.

The teacher arrived on the pedestal quietly. A bandit kicked him on the back, forcing him on his knees with a grunt. The leader of the mages walked forward. He raised his finger, and a force yanked the professor's head back, forcing them to make eye contact.

"You killed a lot of my mages..." He said silently.

"I'm just sad i couldn't kill more." The professor said with a grin.

The leader's eyes narrowed he turned to the the group of mages.

"Prepare him, he's going to be our first sacrifice." He said coldly.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" Shouted Liam.

The mage paused in his steps, turning to Liam, his eyes glinting a deep red.

"And what do we have here?" he said