Mark of the Rising Sun

Back at the school basement, the three remaining creatures gather, their peons standing around. A couple of their brothers dead on the ground on account of their master’s disapproval. The body of the fourth creature, a gaping hole in his chest the only sign of anything wrong, the subject of the head creature’s fury.

“Who here can tell me what happened? I want to know how my brother died, and I want to know now. This should have been an easy win for us, instead, we are now down by one.”

One of the smaller humans raised his hand and spoke, “I saw the whole thing master, I can tell you what happened, although it will not make you any happier.”

“Then speak you fool, before I leave you like these others who were unfortunate enough to feel my wrath!”

The man squeaked and began talking in a fast tone. “Sire, the plan started out perfectly. The girl came down here alone to help her parents just as we figured. By the way she was using the wind magic, it was apparent that she was the one we sought. When the time was right, we sprung the trap, and the girl was helpless against Agog. He fought valiantly and easily took down the novice and turned her into a whimpering child.”

“But then, things took an unforeseen turn. Another human, a male, came down and helped her. We believe him to be the water elemental from the warriors of light. With his help, she was able to recover from the initial onslaught. When the two of them split off, we thought that we could still make up for the fiasco, but the witch had a new determination and power. She was able to use the water magic of her fellow warrior, and what’s more, she combined the powers of water and wind to create a jagged shard of ice that she used to dispatch your brother.”

Silence descended on the room after that statement, and it was apparent that the creature was doing some quick thinking. Finally, he said, “Alright, it seems we had some misinformation, and that is why we failed. Jeffery, why is it you did not tell us that this girl could use water magic in such a way. Make it good, or you will not live to see tomorrow.”

The lead human came forward on his knees. “My apologies oh Great One, it is not from lack of trying I assure you. In all the information we sought out, there was no clue that this girl could use water magic. She wasn’t taking any classes in it, and no one was tutoring her as far as we could tell. I believe that she didn’t know it herself until just as it happened, the look on her face was one of surprise as she killed Agog.”

The creature nodded his head, “Fine, fine, so it seems an accident caused my brother’s downfall. How interesting, still this encounter has taught us two things. First, there is another warrior of light in the mix now, this water elemental. He could be trouble in the days to come. Secondly, we have learned who the leader of their band is. This Angela is more formidable than we thought, as she has already taken down one of our number. We will need to attack this from another angle. I want you to split your forces. Half will keep a tail on our two enemies, especially the new one, the other half I want finding the other two. I don’t want any more surprises coming our way.”

The rest of the humans, realizing that they were not about to be killed any time soon, bowed low and the leader spoke again. “As you wish masters, we will not fail you again. We will scour the globe until we find the ones you seek, and watch the other two like a hawk while you plan your next assault on their defenses.”

When the humans left, the creatures gathered their powers together, and sent the limp body of the first creature back to their homeland. As they did, a small mark shone on the creature’s thigh that had not been there before. It was only noticed by the head creature, and he gave an evil smile when he saw it.