An elf scout came rushing in, breathless and wide-eyed. "Luenor!" he called, his voice taut with urgency. "Knights! A squad of knights, marching from the north!"
Luenor's expression shifted, and his brow furrowed as confusion and dread twisted in his chest. "What?" he asked angrily. "The knights... here? Why?"
The elf took a breath to steady himself. "I heard them say it - they're coming to seize the mines. They were ordered to seize the mines and set free the prisoners - 'the prisoners and to seal the area by the Baron's orders.' They are close, Luenor - maybe ten minutes out."
Dion went pale. "The Baron's knights?" he stammered, his voice cracked. "They... We can't fight knights! They'll ... they'll kill us all!"
Luenor took a deep breath and forced the panic down. "Go," he said, turning to the elf scout. "Tell Hunter. Tell Thalanar. We'll hold as long as we can."
The scout bowed quickly and disappeared into the trees.
Luenor turned to Dion, keeping his eyes calm and steady. "We have to seal the mine," he said. "If they get and see what's here - if they see the miners, the elves, everything - it will all be over."
Nalia, who had been nearby studying the stone up close, looked up in surprise.
"Seal it?" she asked, brow knitting in thought. "But... we can't keep knights out forever."
Luenor looked hard at her. "We just need time," he said flatly. "Arwin!" he shouted, voice cracking.
Arwin and a small group of elves stepped forward from the shadows. "What's going on?" Arwin demanded.
"Knights," Luenor said simply. "We have to hold them off—hopefully long enough to get the miners and villagers deeper underground. Nalia—seal the entrance. Use whatever you've got."
Nalia hesitated with her staff clenched tightly in her hand. "That... that will drain everything from me. I don't know if I can hold it."
"You have to try," Luenor said. "We are counting on you."
Nalia's eyes flickered with resolve. She raised her staff, mana rolling around the fingers of her free hand. The earth groaned; stones rasped against each other as the entrance to the mine quivered and began to seal.
Arwin leaned close to Luenor. "Why didn't you just run?" he said quietly, his voice tight. "You could have hid in the forest."
Luenor shook his head. "Because this mine—this village—these people... they're everything! I can't leave them."
Inside the mine, Dion and a handful of the elves were working fast. They were directing the miners—scared and unsure—further into the tunnels. They were pushing them towards a secluded area within the mine; using old carts and rock-falls to cover their rear.
Outside, the knights arrived, gleaming under the faint light of dusk. Burizan waddled alongside them, sweat pouring off his face as he squeaked, "This is it—this is where the mine is. I swear!"
The lead knight—Sir Roderick Greaves, a hard-looking man with a scar down his cheek—assessed the blocked entrance, narrowing his eyes. "It's buried?" he growled. "Clever. But dirt and stone can't cover the truth."
He barked orders at his men. "Make a path! Use whatever you must!"
The knights cut down a small tree, the trunk crashing to the earth with a heavy thud. They dragged it forward, using it as a battering ram against the sealed entrance. Each slam sent a dull echo rolling through the mine, rattling loose stones from the ceiling.
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Internally, Nalia gritted her teeth as perspiration dripped from her forehead, "I... can't... hold it..." she gasped. Her arms shook, her staff radiated the last pieces of her magic.
Luenor watched and thought rapidly about his options. He turned back to Arwin. "Mana stones" He spoke quickly. "Give me a bag."
Arwin pulled a bag and handed it over, confusion on his face. Luenor grabbed the first mana stone and felt the raw energy sear the flesh of his palm. He closed his eyes and welcomed the magic, letting it fill his core and spread like raging flames.
He steadied himself and reached over to touch Nalia's shoulder, which allowed him to transfer the mana she'd cried out for.
This brought about wide eyes and shock when she felt it, like a cool river rushing through her blood. She stared at him in awe. "How...? That's impossible..."
Luenor did not respond. He grabbed another, and another one, now sweat had begun dripping from his brow as he continued to siphon their magical energy from them and transfer it to her. "Keep going," he grunted, feeling intense pain in each muscle of his body. "You can't stop now."
Outside, Roderick Greaves watched as his men struggled with the battering ram with frustration burning in his eyes. "Enough," he shouted.
He stepped forward and pulled his sword from its scabbard with the rasp of steel. Mana crackled into life across the length of the blade in a deep green glow, shimmering in the twilight.
In a singular motion, he swung the blade down at the blocked opening.
The strike rang out like a bell as the stone cracked under the impact, shaking the air as it reverberated. A small explosion rippled from the blade's edge as dust and earth exploded outward and the entrance shivered under the blow.
Inside the mine, the ground lurched, and Nalia cried out as the stones around her groaned.
The shock of Roderick's violent assault reverberated throughout the cave. Stones and dust fell from above as the small cave creaked and groaned and the air filled with the choking smell of dirt and dread. Luenor and Nalia were thrust aside as the shock sent them careening across the rough stone floor.
Nalia caught herself on her magical staff, her face pale and drawn as she strained to keep the cave ceiling in place. Her arms quivered and veins of mana-light flickered beneath her skin. "I - I can't let it fall," she gasped, her voice small as a whisper.
Dion and the elves rushed toward one another, weapons gleaming dimly. The close quarters of the mine turned the combat to a brutal scrum - elven bows were useless in the tunnel, knives and short swords glimmering in the dark as they clashed with the knight's longer blades.
Roderick's eyes widened as he saw the elves among the ragtag defenders. "Elves..." he hissed, shock stretching into cold rage. "Capture them! Kill the rest!"
The knights surged forward, steel meeting steel in the dark.