Fifteen minutes later I saw the first man in a black robe with a hood and a light mask. I decided to get close enough to knock him out, turn him around, and interrogate him. But he seems to have strong instincts and starts to turn towards me. He raises his staff, but immediately drops it and grabs his wounded arm, which has three shurikens embedded in it. He opens his mouth to scream, but the sleep spell knocks him out and he falls onto his back.
I freeze. The nearest people run thirty meters away from me, away from the threat. A tantalizing gesture, and a stranger's wand in my hand. It's a matter of seconds to place a seal of paralysis on his forehead and hide the wizard in a specially prepared ring. I move on.
The shifting light from torches, burning tents, and other flammable materials creates constantly flickering silhouettes of shadows, flashes of light, and darkening of the area. The next masked men were two, I didn't understand what they were doing, but their instincts were worse, so they got hit in the head with scabbards and then went to the artifact.
I listen to the world and barely have time to jump aside when some kind of blue curse ray passes literally millimeters away. A somersault to the side, another. There's a loud crack, a few flashes, and I'm showered with dirt and debris.
— Petrificus Totalus! Expelliarmus! Expelliarmus! Bombarda! Confringo!
I had to cover myself with Protego from that last one, or I might have been burned by the flames.
— Bombarda! Bombarda Maximus! Lumos Solem!
I was blinded, but there's a reason I'm so close to the spirit world. At the same time, three curses of some kind crossed my face as I did a high somersault and slammed into a mage with two shurikens in each hand and one just above his knee.
— Aah! — a man's voice cried out in a high-pitched wail. — I'm hurt! Ah-ah-ah! Help! — The last was obviously for his comrades, but they were in no hurry to help, distracted as they were by the wounded man.
Another sweep of the brush, another, and there were three cold masked men howling on the ground. I dropped to my knees and listened to the silence amidst the howling of the wounded. No one had moved toward us yet, which was strange.
The sight of the strongest of the trio trying to pick up his wand with stubborn fingers was amusing — broken tendons are no joke. I picked up the wands again, sealed their faces, and sealed them into the artifact. Moving on. They don't seem to be making much progress due to the panic.
Thirty paces later, I come to a half-built tent where two children, a girl of about eight and a boy of about five, are frozen and huddled together. I could clearly distinguish them in my spiritual vision, even though I had already regained my normal vision. At the sound of my footsteps in their tent, the girl held her breath and covered her brother's mouth. I threw back the canopy and peered inside. They look like two chicks.
— Don't be afraid, I'll help you. — I'll try to talk to you as gently as I can. — See this piece of paper? — I show the seal and the children nod, the girl a little tense, unlike the boy who believed me. — I'm going to give you each one of these. — I move my fingers and there are two pieces of paper. — You will take them, and as long as you hold them in your hands, no one will see you.
— No one at all? Like an invisibility cloak? — The boy was interested.
— That's right. But don't let it out of your hands, and hold hands so you don't get lost. You will go that way, — I will give you a direction. — Follow this light, a blue ghostly light hovering over my hand. — It will lead you to a safe place. The talismans will stop working once you drop them. Do you understand?
— Can't we stay here? Daddy promised to come back from his friends soon... — the girl said uncertainly.
— You can't stay here — it's too dangerous, your parents will find you later when you're safe. Now let's go!