Merri & Bram: DREADGUARD [complete!]
Bram Thornton is an old man, and feeling older all the time—he isn’t built for this sort of conflict anymore, but he pulls himself back to his feet regardless, buoyed by Merrion’s magic. Protect, Shell, Haste, they all settle into the man’s limbs and make him stronger, faster, more solid, leaping back to his feet and plunging back into the fray. He’s the only one standing between them and the Dreadguard now; the mage is evidently ill-suited for this confrontation, sinking back into the support line. The wind magic seems on the verge of tearing Merrion apart, air like knives ripping and pricking at his skin.
So Bram throws himself forward.
Between the two councilors, they manage to put it down—but the victory is hard-won and scraped through by the skin of their teeth, both men injured beyond reckoning. The mage has taken the worst of it; the day ends with the dragoon lugging the other man to the infirmary, Merri slumped into his shoulder and feet dragging in the bloodstained dust, slowly labouring their way towards the healers before they collapse completely.