A Quest of Heroes (Book #1 in the Sorcerer's Ring)

leaving his body. They’d had their first
encounter, the ice was broken, and they were still alive. He leaned back and
laughed, too, happy to be alive.
    “Keep
laughing, stranger boy,” Elden said. “We’ll see who has the last laugh.”
    I’m
not laughing at you , as Reece is , Thor thought. I’m just relieved to be alive.
    But
he didn’t bother saying it; he knew that nothing he could say would change
Elden’s hatred for him.
    “Look!”
O’Connor screamed. “There!”
    Thor
squinted but could barely see what he was pointing at in the thickening night.
Then he saw it: the banner of the Legion, hanging from one of the branches.
    They
all began to run for it.
     Elden
ran past all of them, brushing them aside roughly.
    “That
flag is mine!” he yelled.
    “I
saw it first!” O’Connor yelled.
    “But
I will get it first, and I will be the one to bring it back!” Elden yelled.
    Thor
fumed; he could barely believe Elden’s actions. He recalled what Kolk had
said—that whoever got the banner would be rewarded, and realized why Elden
sprinted. But that did not excuse him: they were supposed to be a team, a
group—not every man for himself. Elden’s true colors were coming out—none of
the others ran for it, tried to outdo the others. It made Thor hate Elden even
more.
    Elden
sprinted past after elbowing O’Connor, and before the others could react, he
gained several feet on them and snatched the banner.
    As
he did, a huge net appeared out of nowhere, rising from the ground, springing
up into the air, entrapping Elden and hoisting him up high. He swung back and
forth before their eyes, just feet away, like an animal caught in a trap.
    “Help
me! Help me!” he screamed, terrified.
    They
all slowed as they walked up close to him; Reece began to laugh.
    “Well,
who is the coward now?” Reece yelled out, amused.
    “Why
you little crap!” he yelled. “I will kill you when I get down from this!”
    “Oh
really?” Reece retorted. “And when will that be?”
    “Set
me down!” Elden yelled, turning and spinning in the net. “I command you!”
    “Oh,
you command us, do you?” Reece said, bursting into laughter.
    Reece
turned and looked at Thor.
    “What
do you think?” Reece asked.
    “I
think that he owes all of us an apology,” O’Connor said. “Especially Thor.”
    “I
agree,” Reece said. “I’ll tell you what,” he said to Elden. “Apologize—and make
it sincere—and I will consider cutting you down.”
    “Apologize?”
Elden echoed, horrified. “Not in one million suns.”
    Reece
turned to Thor.
    “Maybe
we should just leave this lump here for the night. It would be great food for
the animals. What do you think?”
    Thor
smiled wide.
    “I
think that’s a fine idea,” O’Connor said.
    “Wait!”
Elden screamed out.
    O’Connor
reached up and snatched the banner from Elden’s dangling finger.
    “Guess
you didn’t beat us to the banner after all,” O’Connor said.
    The
three of them turned, and began to walk away.
    “No,
wait!” Elden cried. “You can’t leave me here! You wouldn’t!”
    The
three of them continued to walk away.
    “I’m
sorry!” Elden began to sob. “Please! I’m sorry!”
    Thor
stopped, but Reece and O’Connor continued to walk. Finally, Reece turned.
    “What
are you doing?” Reece asked Thor.
    “We
can’t leave him here,” Thor said. As much as Thor disliked Elden, he didn’t
think it right to leave him there.
    “Why
not?” Reece asked. “He brought it on himself.”
    “If
the tables were turned,” O’Connor said, “you know he would gladly leave you
there. Why should you care?”
    “I
understand,” Thor said. “But that doesn’t mean we should act like him.”
    Reece
put his hands on his hips and sighed deeply as he leaned in and whispered to
Thor.
    “I
wasn’t going to leave him there all night. Maybe just half the night. But you
do have a point. He’s not cut out for this. He’d probably piss himself and have
a heart attack. You’re too kind. That’s a problem,” Reece said as he put a hand
on Thor’s shoulder. “But that’s why I chose you for a friend.”
    “And
I,” O’Connor said, putting his hand on Thor’s other shoulder.
    Thor
turned, marched towards the net, reached out and cut it down.
    Elden
landed with a thud. He scrambled to his feet, threw the net off and frantically
searched the ground.
    “My
sword!” he yelled. “Where is it?”
    Thor
looked down at the ground, but it was too dark to