Reidar, Jake, and Lena made their way through debris-filled streets toward the city's outskirts. Behind them, the fighting continued—church members' screams pierced the smoke-choked air, barely audible over the noise of buildings crumbling to the ground.
Around him, the Vorathid Sky-Hunters were depositing their cargo. The giant insects hovered close to the ground until they dropped the prisoners onto the ground.
Most of the survivors stumbled as they hit the earth. Their legs were too weak from mana deprivation and starvation to hold their weight, and they collapsed.
Reidar dismissed the raven. It dissolved into blue mana mist.
The survivors didn't look at Reidar. Their attention was on the two people who had physically pulled them from the cages. When they saw Lena and Jake approaching, the mood shifted. Several of them scrambled to their feet, their faces lighting up with something that looked like gratitude mixed with disbelief.
