Location: A narrow pass between forest rocks.
Time: Day 13 (Evening).As they returned toward the assembly point, they felt watched."Stop," Lirion whispered.Suddenly, arrows flew from the darkness. These were not ordinary arrows; their tips were coated in black runic ink that blocked mana flow."Bounty Hunters," Garek said, drawing his sword.Five men emerged, wearing light leather armor. Their leader, a man with a scarred face, smiled. "Hand over the crystals, and anything strange you found, and we'll let you go."Lirion knew they were after the shard."No," Lirion said simply."Seize them," the leader ordered.Lirion tried to raise his hand to draw the circuit. But suddenly, he felt a "heaviness" in the air. The circuit he formed in his mind distorted and collapsed before completion.[System Alert: Magical Interference Field Detected. Circuit Stability dropped to 40%.]"My magic isn't working!" Rowan shouted, dodging a sword strike.Garek fought physically, but he was outnumbered. Elara tried to cast fire, but the flame sputtered weakly and died out.The bulky leader advanced toward Lirion. "You're the leader, aren't you? We heard about your root's mutation. We'll take your root, too."The leader raised a large sword to strike Lirion.Lirion ran—not to flee, but to close the distance. Magic wasn't working, but his body was still strong.He evaded the strike with a slight shift and drove a mana-reinforced knee into the leader's side. The leader doubled over in pain.But the others were preparing for a group attack. Lirion needed his magic now.