Climb
The window was your only option. It was a treacherous climb, but you knew you could do it. The wind howled around you as you threw the glass open. A storm was brewing. And that meant elementals. Your trip home just got a lot harder. That must have been why the tower was so empty. Sorcerers had a good grasp on the weather, and a very keen knowledge of the fact that when two powerful sources of magic meet, such as sorcerers and elementals, bad things tend to happen. It was just your luck that in your bag was another very powerful magic item.
With a sigh, you start making your way down the tower. The roaring of the storm became almost unbearable, but after a time you managed to make it to the ground safely. All that was left was getting home, but that wouldn’t be so easy. Your escape plan, otherwise known as the family horse, was currently galloping into the forest in terror. Looks like you had to make your way through it on your own.
At this point there’s enough magic energy in the air that there’s no harm in using your artifact. You take the necklace out of your bag and clasp it around your neck. A heavy sigh escapes you as the amulet fills you with strength. Man, that feels good. With your newfound energy, you start making your way through the forest, but the storm doesn’t die down. It almost seems to follow you.
You move faster and faster but to no avail. The storm won’t disperse.
Just as you think that you might be in the clear, you see something that stops you dead in your tracks. The wind begins to swirl together, picking up leaves and dirt as it forms into the shape of a giant bear. An elemental. You’re lucky though, it hasn’t noticed you yet. With a lot of caution you might be able to slip right past it. You duck into the brush, moving as slowly as possible, and pray to every god you can think of to spare you. The bear begins huffing and searching around the area, looking for you. As you attempt to sneak your way further, it moves closer and closer, hunting for you.
You stop in a bush and hold your breath as it draws closer, its nose sniffing mere inches away from your face. You tense your muscles, ready to run, praying that you might be able to make it far enough with a burst of speed. It’s eyes narrow and you hear a growl building in the back of its throat. It sounds like wind sailing over an empty sky. You’re locked eye to eye with this bear, both of you waiting for the other to move and then suddenly it whirls around and unleashes a deafening thunderclap of a roar.
You feel your hair stand on end and your vision go white as a burst of light flashes into the forest. Standing a few feet away, crackling with energy and tension is a majestic stag made of pure lightning. It rushes headfirst at the bear, and the resulting impact sends you flying backwards with a sound that makes you think the very earth is splitting apart. Thanks to the amulet you’re able to compose yourself quickly and you start running as fast as you can, ignoring the battle behind you.
After what feels like hours the storm finally starts to move on, and you let out a sigh of relief. You finally got your artifact back, and on top of that you had the story of a lifetime to tell your family.
Ending 7/16