Just then, a very bright light shone and a portal appeared.
Another figure similar to the current enemies who appeared wounded staggered out of it.
Instinctively, Usher quickly drew a dagger out of his tool bag and flung it directly at the figure coming out of the portal.
He then left the enemy he was fighting and jolted towards the portal with all the life he had inside of him.
Just as he had contemplated, the enemy managed to dodge the dagger sluggishly creating an opening for him.
He jumped over the enemy and while still suspended in the air about to get into the portal, the initial figure flung a chain that caught and entrapped his left arm right above his biceps, close to his shoulder level.
He was about to miss his last opportunity to escape death.
He quickly brought out another dagger.
"I will not die here!!!"
With a loud scream, Usher cut off his arm right above where the chain held and jumped into the portal, blood dripping all over.
The portal suddenly closed and he was out of sight.
*************
Mr Edga and his friend Roger had finished their conversation and Roger was about to take his leave.
Mr. Edga went to Emelda's room and knocked.
"Emelda!".
Mr. Edga called out to Emelda amidst knocks on the door of her room.
"Come greet our visitor my friend, before he goes away".
There was silence.
Mr. Edga knocked two more times and then left for the parlour.
"Maybe she's asleep, he said to Roger.
She was in fact wide awake, and still staring out her window.
She had just decided it wasn't necessary to go through the trouble of meeting anyone at the moment.
Still feeling sad about the death of her foster cousin, she had decided not to go anywhere, not even train, but just stay in her room for the next few days.
She only left the room to do the cooking and cleaning in the house.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Edga had learned over time not to disturb the placid girl's privacy.
If it were back in the day, Mr. Edga would probably have let himself into her room and woken her softly.
Mr. Edga and Roger finally left the house, continuing their conversation as they walked away.
***********
It was an open farm at the backsides of the country.
The owner of the farm, Philip was a merchant well known in the country for his trade of animal produce and crops also.
He trafficked both the proceeds from his farm and that of his fellow farmers for gain.
Philip was in his early fifties and had been in the trade for a good 25 years.
He was about 5 feet 8 inches in height, had a round face and was a little chubby.
His belly was somewhat but not too obviously protruded because he had begun to control his previously outrageous excessive drinking.
He also frequently wore a face cap anytime he was leaving his house such that the cap had a sticky grip on his identity.
He lived alone with his only daughter and child, Zelda.
He had moved to the backsides of the country 10 years ago when his wife died of a strange illness.
Because of her mother's death, his daughter Zelda chose a career path in the medical field.
She had gone to a good college and gotten a degree in anatomy.
Now, all she did was to go to the clinic twice or thrice a week since she wasn't a staff yet, and mostly help her dad out at the farm.
This particular day she was at home reading.
"ZzzzVrroooomm".
The sound of Philip's steam car was heard coming down the boulevard path that led to their cottage.
Yes, civilization and technological advancement had at this time only brought them to the invention of steam cars.
The principle was quite simple.
The steam engine uses the force produced by the steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder.
By this, it performs the mechanical work required to propel the moving parts of the vehicle namely the crankshaft, transfer case, wheel case, wheel and axle, etc which in turn propels the tyre.
As Philip was driving, he suddenly observed a flash of light coming from a point far away to the left.
At first, he imagined that it was probably another vehicle, but the extent of the brightness and the sound it came with told him otherwise.
He immediately diverted from the path leading to his house and drove in the direction of the flashing light.
While he was on the way, the light went out and all he did was continue on course.
When he came close enough, he stopped the vehicle and got out of it to observe the scene.
His mouth opened wide as he approached the scene.
Zelda who was inside the house, had heard the sound of her father's engine and was surprised at why he hadn't showed up yet.
She decided to go outside and see what the reason was.
As she stepped outside the cottage, she saw her dad who was coming directly to the house suddenly changing course at a far distance and was surprised.
She decided to follow the direction the car had gone and find out what was happening as she had discerned something must have been wrong.
Suddenly, she spotted her father driving back in a hurry.
'What is wrong?'. She thought in her mind.
As her approached her, he called out loudly.
"Zelda! Zelda! Get in the car, there's an emergency!
**************
James was just getting back from his training cell.
He decided to branch at the hospital where his mom was being treated.
As he entered, he proceeded to the reception and asked to see his mom.
Since he had already been there along with the rest of his family before, the receptionist knew him and therefore allowed him in.
He walked through the narrow passage for a while.
As he was approaching the end of the narrow passage, he suddenly stopped at the fourth to last room towards the left.
It was the room his mom was warded and he could remember vividly.
He knocked a bit and waited for an answer.
When none came he knocked again and waited again.
When he still didn't get any response, he opened the door and let himself in.
From the door, he could see that his mom was sleeping peacefully.
He closed the door behind him and went and sat on a chair by her side.
He put his right palm on the back of her palm which was resting on the bed, and watched her sleep.
After he had stayed for some minutes and she was still asleep, he stood up again and walked towards the door.
He opened the door and stopped for a moment, turning back.
"Get well soon mom.
I love you".
He said.
He then left the ward, closing the door behind him.