An Elegy of Magic

Jesabel keeps out of sight. The welcome distraction gave her time to think up a plan, and find an object that suits it; a stone, about the side of her fist. She casts two magic bomb spells on the stone, and waits for the right time to come.

The beast rears back on it's hind legs and kicks a bandit square in the chest with it's front legs; there is a sickening sound of the man's sternum and ribs caving in on themselves as he flies backwards.

"Kill that monster!!" another bandit screams.

Jesabel doesn't approve of the merciless murder of the bandits... She'll have to handle the situation, fast.

Jesabel tosses the glowing stone in the midst of the bandit group. She detonates it, the shockwave sending everybody near by to the ground with it's concussive force. The Minotaur half-breed was however, inside it's blast radius... but Jesabel figures it wouldn't have done much. A cloud of opaque dust was thrown up in to the air by the blast, obscuring everything in the blastzone.

"Stay down, if you've got any sense left in you!" Jesabel shouts. "Someone bring some rope, or anything to bind the criminals."

The creature, like the bandits, is blown off it's feet, though upon landing on it's side, it gets up fairly fast.
The apparent leader of the bandits shouts above the noise.

"We outnumber them, rush them, and kill them, every last one of them!" he yells.

An idiot Jesabel thinks. She stalks in to the cloud of dust, with her eyes closed. She follows the location of the leaders voice... and shoves her sword through the bandits back.

Unlike stories may have told, one does not always gasp and gurgle in pain when impaled.
Upon the sword plunging through his back, he falls forward unto his horse without a sound; any bandits not in the cloud of dust would have noticed their leader fall.

"Stand down!" Jesabel demands of the bandits, and the merciless minotaur half-breed.

The creature stomps it's hooves as it snorts at the men, who seem to have been broken by the sudden loss of their leader.
The men all drop their weapons, afraid of what will happen if they don't.

Jesabel lets out a deep breath. It'll take some time for her body to calm down, and remove itself from combat readiness. The adrenaline makes her hands shake. Jesabel looks around, trying to see all the damage that was done to the town.

The damage is significant, homesteads burn, and both bandits and villagers alike lay dead on the ground.
It's clear that those who aren't dead will be traumatized by this barbaric act.

Before the bandits can do or say anything, Iefan raises his staff and slams it into the ground.

As he does this, a fog seems to go over their eyes, causing them to shut as the men each fall to the ground.

"Bah, it's so hard to cast a sleep spell on multiple moving targets!" the old man says. "I thank you for dealing with their leader when you did."

Jesabel puts her sword away. "Damn it all..."

Iefan shakes his head, his voice full of contempt as he stares down at the sleeping bandits.

"This is what happens when you take it into your head that you have the right to choose who lives or dies." he says. "Unnecessary bloodshed."

The beast lets out a snort and turns around, slowly trotting back towards the Yth Woodlands.

It appears that this is the mysterious rider that everyone was talking about.

"We should... try to help clean up, or something, I don't know. After they're dealt with."

As Iefan starts to reply, the sound of hooves beating the ground can once again be heard, but this time, it's not bandits.

Knights of Kalkulis and Clerics of the Church of Lambent ride into the village, immediately dismounting and running to the aid of the villagers.

The only knight with a cape, the mark of his rank, removes his helmet and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"We were too late..." he says.

"It would have been worse if not for the intervention of a few. A wizard over there" Jesabel says, gesturing towards Iefan. "And a strange half-breed... who left."

"I told you we should have left immediately, but NO, don't listen to someone like ME why don't you?!" a voice snaps irritably from within the ranks, and stepping into view comes a young teenage girl, with medium length brown hair, and an average build. She carries a large bow on her back, and sitting on her shoulder is the most vicious looking rooster ever to lay eyes on.

Standing at 21 inches, the rooster glowers at anyone who looks at him. "The f@#% are YOU looking at?" he snaps at one such person.

(YES, FINALLY LOGGED ON AND GOT IT TO LET ME STAY ON!)
(Hi leo, im here, better late than never eh?)
(Imma make my stoof over this break and have it to posted by monday probably)
(Sorry im late)

Jesabel tilts her head, quite confused. She wonders about the talking, rather, yelling chicken, for just a short while.

Jesabel turns her attention elsewhere, looking for Jill

Jill sits next to the well, her arms wrapped around her legs, which are pressed against her chest.

She stares at the ground, her gaze unfocused and staring at nothing in particular.

_____________

Jesabel walks over, standing at Jill's side. "Oi, everything alright?" Jesabel asks gently, knowing full well that everything isn't. Humans always were so easily effected by trauma.

"No..." Jill starts, her voice quivering. "So many people I knew are dead. It's not fair, why'd they have to die?"

Clutching her legs tighter, Jill puts her head down on her knees and her shoulders begin to shake violently.

"Why did they do this? Why does anyone do anything like this?!" she asks.

Jesabel bristles uncomfortable, trying to summon up the right words. "No matter how long you think, you will never know why bad people do what they do. You'll drive yourself mad trying to understand it."
"Instead, think of what you still have. Mourn for the lost, and rejoice for the living." Jesabel sits by Jill, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Jill looks up, her tear stained face looking at the sleeping bandits.

"What's going to happen to them?" she asks.

"Worry not. They will get what's coming to them."

As the bodies are cleared away, a young knight walks over to Jill and Jesabel, he brushes one of his red bangs out of his eyes as he kneels down.

"Is there anything I can do for you both?" he asks softly.