The Urban Legend Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Chapter 117

The crusaders' merciless assault left no Torchbearer settlement standing. Sheltering behind Mara's quickly crumbling barrier, the few surviving villagers could only watch helplessly as their protectors were cut down.

With the last line of defense about to fail, the elder magician Cyrus gripped Mara's shoulder and met her eyes. "Take the children and flee," he urged. "We will delay them."

Mara hesitated, but Cyrus squeezed her shoulder more insistently. "Their hatred will not stop until all we built lies in ruins. But seeds of hope remain...plant them anew."

Blinking back tears, Mara gathered a small group of apprentices and children and led them in escape through collapsing battlelines. A rear guard of mages shrouded their retreat as the crusaders crushed all resistance.

For days Mara's band fled through the wilderness, surviving on foraged roots and rainwater. Meanwhile, smoke from burning villages blotted out the horizon behind them.

Finally they crested a rise overlooking a tranqu