Following the explosion, debris rained down, and the ceiling started to collapse. In the heat of the moment, Stefam quickly flung a beam of light and grabbed Mark, pulling him out from beneath the falling rubble, but Ivan was left behind, buried under stones and dust.
"Move! We need to get out of here." Rodbar shouted urgedtly.
With Romnwell, their captive in tow, the four of them sprinted away from the collapsing corridor. They had just made it out of the corridor when a second explosion thundered through the air, even more ferocious than the first.
Rodbar's mind raced with concern. 'I hope Berg is okay.' The whole situation with Ivan and Berg's spell left him uneasy, a nagging feeling that he couldn't shake off. But he had little time to dwell on it.
As they burst outside the building, they were met by a dark gloomy sky. Stefam paused and looked at the sky, his expression solemn as a myriad of thoughts flashed through his mind.
"Your Grace." A soldier emerged from a corner spotting them. He was followed by two more soldiers, their swords bloodied, with serious expressions on their faces. "Thank goodness you're okay, we've been looking for you."
Stefam turned to the soldier, meeting his gaze with a steady look. "What's the update on the current situation?" Stefam asked calmly.
"Majority of the imposters have been taken care of, we're currently sweeping up the rest while keeping a lookout." The soldier responded promptly.
"Any leads?" Stefam inquired.
The soldier's expression grew complicated. "From the ones we've been able to apprehend and question, some outrightly killed themselves, while the ones we restrained kept on saying something about destiny and Tasvill's fall."
'Tasvill's fall?' Stefam thought with a tense expression. 'I had initially taken it for a rebellious uprising, but that doesn't do justice to the situation. Even the students at the Haven and those from the library are involved. People who had probably never met before know when and how to attack. This is more than just some act of rebellion, it's more than that, hopefully we are able to control the situation more and find out the cause of all this.'
"Alright then. What about my father?" Stefam came out of his thoughts and asked, his tone changing ever so slightly at the mention of the king.
In response to Stefam's question, the soldier glanced up at the dark sky, his gaze solemn. "The king… we are not sure of his whereabouts, but from the situation, it is obvious he's somewhere around, and he's not happy."
"That much is clear,'' Stefam responded tersely, looking up to the sky as well. "What we can do now is take care of the situation before father finishes his business. What's your name?"
"Bodd, Your Grace." The soldier answerd.
"Alright then Bodd, have your men escort these three somewhere safe," he said, gesturing to Rodbar, Mark and Ara. "As for this one, he should be kept restrained. He has questions to answer. The priests will take care of that, if there are any left anyways." Stefam gestured to Romnwell, who had been gagged at some point.
"Yes, Your Grace." Bodd saluted. He then gave the command to the other two soldiers.
"What about you?" Rodbar asked Stefam.
"I'll be going with Bodd, I'll be joining in on the cleanup efforts, some weeds need uprooting." Stefam answered with a stern expression.
"Alright then, thank you for your help, Your Grace," Rodbar said with bow. Replicating Rodbar's actions, Mark and Ara also showed their appreciation before following the soldiers lead.
The escorts had not gone too far when an arrow flew through the air, its slim body flashing through the wind and going through the throat of one of the escorting soldiers.
The soldier fell to the ground with a shocked expression, his face contorted in agony as he gurgled out large amounts of blood.
Stefam and Bodd looked back at the sound of the soldier's body hitting the ground. They both saw him on the floor struggling with an arrow through his throat.
Another arrow flew through the air, its trajectory aimed for other soldier, but he was alert and quickly deflected it with his blade. Stefam looked at the scene with a wary expression and traced the direction the arrow came from its trajectory.
He saw a man in a deep blue military uniform with silver lines running through it. The man held a bow and had another arrow nocked. He released another arrow, this time aiming for Bodd, who was beside Stefam.
The arrow pierced through the air at an astonishing speed. The speed of the arrow caught Stefam by surprise as it didn't seem like the man had drawn the bow to its limits, it just looked like he had nocked it casually.
In a flash the arrow was upon Bodd, but he regained his bearings and raised his sword to deflect the incoming projectile. But just as his blade was about to make contact with the arrow, the arrow changed direction at the last second and went straight for Bodd's temple.
Bodd couldn't react on time to the sudden change and was about to get pierced in his temple. A beam of light suddenly shot out and broke the arrow before it could do Bodd any harm.
Bodd staggered in shock as he stared at the broken arrow on the floor, cold sweat dripping off his forehead. He looked at Stefam with appreciation. "Thank you, Your Grace." He muttered with a stammer.
Stefam did not respond to Bodd's appreciation, instead he kept his gaze on the archer that attacked them. ''He used wind to propel the speed of the arrow and change the trajectory at the last second. Stefam quickly analyzed.
The archer's brow shot up when he saw Stefam deflect his arrow with the light beam. He hesitated for a second before deciding to jump off the ledge he was disappearing from Stefam's view.
"Quick! Take them out of here." Stefam shouted urgently at the other guard escorting Mark, Ara and Rodbar.