You have struck Unknown Common Mage for 2 damage. Damage inflicted, 0. Damage mitigated by protective equipment, 2.
I sighed and glanced at my two minions. The elemental I had charged with attacking the ice mage was slowly making his way up the small hill, taking ice shards to the face, not even attempting to dodge. The one heading towards the lightning mage had latched on to the unsuspecting magic user’s cloak, which was now on fire. As I watched, the fire spread up his cloak and into his underlying gear.
Three bandits, the spell casters, ostensible bodyguards, had scattered at the flame elemental’s approach. Would be really nice if I had Rath’in’ax right now, I thought as I chose another spell and began casting. The world shifted to the reverse of itself. Suddenly the dark of the night felt welcoming and bright, while the flickering light from the flames from the torches and watch fires felt like foreboding shadows. The spell took longer than I expected, and my world view shifted far more than I thought it would.
Mental Stability Check: Passed. Your decision-making ability is unaffected by the magical forces you wield.
I let the information flow over me as I focused on compressing the mana into a dark, yet oddly bright to my eyes, disk of pure Dark Magic. The spell took a full thirty seconds, and three more Force Bolts to the knight’s shield before it was done. I realize d just before I activated the spell that I could cast it within 30 ft of me. Smiling, I thrust the dark disk out towards the enemy spell casters.
You have cast “Summon Darklings 2” successfully. Warning: You already have 2 summoned creatures at your command. If this spell summons more than you can control, your non-dark magic summons will be unsummoned and you will suffer a mana penalty. You may choose instead to summon half the number of Darklings and summon an Underlord to control them for the duration. Do you wish to summon an Underlord? Yes / No.
With a manic gleeful grin, I selected yes. A moment later the dark disk spun out towards my enemy’s lines, landing just in front of the three magic users and their bodyguards. As the spell activated, the Ice caster successfully killed the fire elemental sent after him and was turning to help the beleaguered lightning mage.
The dark mana swirled for what felt like an eternity, but I knew was only a heartbeat. Then, three small dog-like hounds rushed out, followed by a tall humanoid creature roughly about my height and build, holding the hounds’ leashes.
Underlord Summoned: Hound Master. Darklings Summoned: Dark Dogs x3
Other information flowed into me, and I knew their strength, health, and mana pools. The humanoid was seemingly naked save for a loincloth. His body was perfectly chiseled, like a statue of a Greek runner carved out of marble. Instead of white as ivory however, his skin was as dark as obsidian. “I am at your command, master,” the words rang in my head. The words hadn’t been spoken, but I heard them as if they were.
Hound Master: Crog’ra’dril
HP: 350
Defense Bonus: 3
Attack Bonus: 10
Weapon: Cudgel 10-59 damage
Special Ability
Hound Link: Can take ½ damage of any single attack against the Hounds the Hound Master leads 1 time per day per Hound.
Whistling Command: Can give complicated tactical commands via whistles to the Hounds he commands granting them +5 to attack, defense, and speed to those hounds.
Dark Dog x3
HP: 100
Defense Bonus: 5
Attack Bonus: 5
Weapon: Teeth 10-30 damage, Obsidian Claws 20-50 damage
Special Ability
Master Link: Can take ½ damage of any single attack against the Hound Master 1 time per day.
Dark Fang: Once per day can turn its Bite attack into a poisoned attack. Dealing ½ damage over 3 turns + Dark Magic Skill Score.
“I had not expected a telepathic connection,” I thought through the newly forged link. I received the equivalent of a mental shrug from the loincloth wearing obsidian sculpture. “Kill the three petty magic users,” I thought, and fed him the mental image.
“It will be done, master,” he said through the link. A high-pitched whistle filled the air, and I realized it was the Hound Master. He let loose the three Dark Dogs, each at a different target. The closest enemy was the Force Bolt thrower. He had finished recovering and had repositioned closer to the front, which had unfortunately for him it had been a dangerous move. My first Dark Dog bowled into his target from behind and began ripping and tearing at the bolt throwers back. The casters three body guards tried to intervene, but by the time they pulled the darkling off their charge, it was too late. The dog’s jaws crunched down on his spine. And I received a message.
You have killed Unknown Common Mercenary Mage. XP gained: 1,387
The second dog to reach its target was the one heading towards the lightning mage. Just before my Dark Dog got there, the ice mage saved his friend, killing my last Fire Elemental. The lightning mage finished putting out the small smoldering fires on his cloak out, only to be tackled to the ground by the second hound. The man screamed and unleashed a lightning bolt from his hands directly into the poor pup. The Dark Dog whimpered and died under the magical attack. The Hound Master, seeing one of his charges had failed, charged up the hill towards the lightning mage. He lifted a black obsidian like cudgel raised in his hand filled with the promise of violence. The ice mage raised his hands to interfere, ice forming at his fingertips. Before the spell finished forming, the third Dark Dog tackled him to the ground. The mutt had run around the small hill instead of charging directly at its target. The Hound Masters Cudgel came down on the screaming head of the Lightning thrower, splitting his skull and spilling brains and blood to the ground.
You have killed Unknown Command Mercenary Mage. XP gained: 1,483
I had been casting support spells for the beleaguered knights around me. Fire Shield, Cure Light Wounds, and Armor of Darkness were all active and protecting those knights or squires who were most wounded from the fighting. Those active, I turned and found the last Dark Dog and the Hound Master working to butcher the last mage. Ice frosted the ground as the man was dragged to the ground by the hound. The Dark Dogs teeth sank deep into his heel, and the sound of ripping and screaming came from the mage as my summoned creature pulled and bit deeper, dragging his victim towards his master. My summoned Underlord raised his cudgel and brought it down with a loud thwack and crack. The three bodyguards who had been trying to fight off the Dark Dogs attack broke and fled as the mage’s ice armor shattered, their charges blood mixing with the snow on the hillside.
You have killed Unknown Common Mercenary Mage. XP Gained: 2,937
My summons, so fixated on their target, were brutally shattered by hammers and clubs wielded by the remaining bodyguards. Their bodies fell apart into puddles of rock like darkness. Small disks made of pure darkness appeared and their corpses sucked through, back into their home plane. My Underlord and his pack of dogs had served their purpose. But the fight was not yet over. “Mages are dead!” I shouted at Rodrick who I had been healing. He was clearly in charge, and so had been the target of most of the higher level attacks launched by the mob of mercenaries. The knight commander turned for just a moment and grinned as he saw where I was pointing.
“Alright boys, time to start carving!” Rodrick’s voice boomed over the battle. A golden glow appeared around him, casting shadows in every direction in strange patterns. After a moment, that glow came from all 8 of the knights and squires. The group as one pushed forward and started cutting through the enemy lines. I activated my Analyze ability and lightly brushed against the ability to see what it was.
You have been witness to the “Stalwart Steel” ability. Effect: A commander of a military force can increase the forces fighting prowess by x3 for a short duration. Warning: if this ability is interrupted those affected lose all bonuses and receive a -5 to all combat related statistics for an unknown duration.
So that’s why he didn’t want to use it when those mages were still acti
ve, I thought as I cast Create Undead Rats 1. The swarm of rats attacked the enemy’s back line, preventing easy retreat as they climbed aboard and bit down hard, infecting and poisoning enemies with each bite of their undead teeth. I then tried a spell I had only seen used in the book and had not yet tried.
Shadows danced wildly in the aura of the knights. I reached my mind out to those shadows and soon they retreated, leaving nothing but odd, slightly darker shading in their wake. They congealed into thicker, more viscous shadows and then I pumped them full of mana from my mana pool, which I found was around half full. Attack! I ordered through my connection with the shadows. They were all too happy to do just that. The viscous blob I had created split into ten smaller blobs and lept at the enemy’s flanks. Latching on to their shoulders and heads and filling their mouths, ears, and noses with hard shadow, smothering them. The knights cut them down like wheat; they had to split their attention between fighting off the shadow blobs or parrying the knights’ blades.
Fifteen minutes later, we stood among the dead and dying. Rodrick had two casualties. One mildly wounded knight, and a squire who was on death’s doorstep. I did everything I could to keep the boy alive. But I just didn’t have the light magic skill level, or medical Biomancy knowledge to repair a heart pierced by a broken rib cage. As the young boy died, the knights all around me fell silent. “Drevin, this wasn’t your fault.”
“Yes it was.” Drevin, the injured knight, had gotten cut off from the group. He was overenthusiastic in his efforts and lost track of the shield line. His faithful squire had stayed with him the entire way, but they had quickly been cut off completely by the press of mercenary raiders. The leader of the mercenary band had attacked them specifically, spearing the young squire through the chest with some warriors, Thrust ability and a rusty spear, before turning on the boy’s tutor. The knight and the raider leader had fought blow for blow, and the knight had taken a devastating knife cut to the back of the leg, severing a tendon. But the knight had gotten his hands on the bastard and shattered his skull with a powerful hammer blow.
“No, you can’t think like that. This was clearly a trap. They were better equipped, and better supported, than they had any right to be. If Rayid hadn’t been here, we would have all been slaughtered before they broke off the attack. Rest, Drevin, we’ll get you to a proper healer at the castle.” I had walked away at that point, not wanting to hear any more. I had already heard far too many confessions that day and couldn’t handle more.
The snow kept falling, piling up to nearly my hip out in the open fields. Nearly a hundred bodies of the peasant mercenaries littered the small hovel. I needed something to do. So I helped the three remaining squires police the weapons and armor and magical equipment of the dead. I started with the three magic users. They each had basic traveling robes and cloaks. Nothing really magical. The ice mage, who had clearly been the highest level and the leader of the trio, had a minor enchantment on his robe, but it was temporary and needed recharged. It’s what had saved him from my Underlord’s first cudgel strikes. I didn’t want to keep the enchantment, but I took my time unraveling it, learning it.
Congratulations! You have learned a new spell, “Ice Armor 1”. This spell grants the wearer an additional bonus to armor based on various factors including the ambient humidity and temperature. Please see Spell List for more details.
Oh, cool mage armor, I thought as I released the robe and finished rifling through the three dead men’s gear. The bloody wounds didn’t really bother me. I had seen death many times, and not for the first time here on Ethria. But it made me sad, the thought that these men had once wanted far more than the bandit or mercenary life. I shook off the melancholy as I finished inventorying their belongings. I placed the magical items with the ring I had taken off the corpse of the barge mage earlier that day and ran through all of them.
You have found “Ring of Elemental Shift”. Effect: This ring allows you to switch the element of one spell to its opposite element. Quality: Good. Rarity: Very Rare. Durability: 37/50.
I kept the ring for myself and received a prompt asking me to choose a spell. I choose not to select a spell and I put the ring away. I wanted to think about that and ask Ailsa about it first before I made that kind of decision. The ring wasn’t from this battle, and so would not be something I would split with the knights. The next item, however, was certainly different.
You have found “Wand of Elemental Fury: Lightning” Effect: This wand allows you to cast the Lightning spell at double the mana cost, at will. Quality: Exquisite, Damaged. Rarity: Extremely Rare. Durability: 13/50.
I also found three potions of Cure Minor Wounds, and a potion of Minor Cure Status Effect. I kept the wand on me and left the potions at the collection spot and then searched out Rodrick. He had finished dealing with the injured and had already organized the trip back to the fort. Three middle-aged farmers in thick winter clothes stood in the open, talking to him. I waited patiently and was eventually waved over.
“Rayid, these are the village elders. They say that most of their people have returned and are accounted for. Those who are not will probably return within the day, but with the storm still going and the snows piling up they’re worried people might have gotten lost.”
“Alright what can I do to help?” I asked, confused.
“You still have your rat things yes?” I nodded. They still had a few hours left before their bodies fully deteriorated. “Good. Can you send them into the forest and look for people? Maybe help lead them back here?” I agreed and sent them out to scout the forest with a flex of my will.
“Done. Now . . . I have a question.” Rodrick said goodbye to the three elders and began walking with me.
“You have been of incalculable help today. What do you need?”
“Well, what I NEED is for you and your people to help me out with our mutual sorcerer problem.” Rodrick smirked and nodded, urging me to continue. “What I WANT is, this.” I showed him the wand, and the large man guffawed.
“You want the magical loot from the battle?” I nodded sheepishly. “Normally something like this we would sell or give to Lavell’dric’s magic users or perhaps the crafters guild to make into something more useful. But it looks like it’s been heavily used. And, chewed on?” I grinned. One of my dogs must have bitten it when they tackled the lightning mage. “It’s yours, with my thanks. Call it compensation for helping us find the lost farmers.” I grinned.
“Good, because my rats just found three of them huddled under a tree. They’re throwing rocks at it. Ugh, maybe you should just send someone after them. I’ll have my rats lead the way.” A minute later and a mounted squire was riding off, following one of my undead rats. “Now about that sorcerer.” Rodrick sighed.
“Wizard, you have a one track mind.”
“There is a damsel in distress, locked in a dark magic user’s tower. Come on, isn’t it the dream of virtually every knight to rescue said damsel in distress? To slay a dragon, and win a beautiful maiden’s heart?” Rodrick’s frown turned into a smirk.
“You really know how to play on the heartstrings don’t you.”
“Oh, come on, it’s not all that hard. It’s a real problem, and I could really use some help. Besides.” I pulled out a bag of coins that contained most of what we had been given by the nobility the previous day. Threatening people when you’re backed up by the law is rather lucrative. “You can consider this as a first donation to the health and wellbeing of those under your care.” I handed it over to him and he opened it. The gold glinted off the firelight of the torches, sending light shining onto his face.
“300 gold crowns? Do you have any idea what you just handed me?”
“A small fortune. To help the Pervolin’s, who, as I’ve explained before, are under my protection and care. That is literally every dime I have in the entire world. It’s yours. The Count only gave me 280, but the other 20 comes from me.” I had the house servants in the Traser Estate sell some of my less battle-r
eady golem control rods to the crafter’s guild, along with a few of the minor alarm golems I had crafted. They had been my first attempt at making golems that could actually talk, but it didn’t really work out so well. I had scrapped the idea in favor of mass production early on.
The Knight Commander of the United Orders stared at me for a long moment before taking the gold and putting it in his saddlebag. “A generous gift well accepted. I will definitely get some push back for this but, consider us at your side when you go to end that sorcerous pig.” I shook the man’s hand and a few minutes later when the family of three returned to town, we all rode back to Fort Saint Michael together. The howling winter storm and the snows it brought growing deeper by the minute.
Chapter 15: Deep Snow and Deeper Trouble
“Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake.” — Sara Raasch
The Traser Estate, City of Sowers Vale, 6th Novos, 2989 AoR
The next day I walked out of my room to find that the entire Traser Manor staff sleeping in the entry hall. I stayed as quiet as possible as I made my way downstairs, heading to the small library and office space. It was a much smaller copy of the one we had encountered in Fishmongers Hollow a month ago. It was where my companions and I spoke after meals, or while winding down for the evening. I found Traser and Zed talking, looking out the rather large window. Snow was falling, and I had to blink several times. Snow had piled up to near half a foot past the bottom windowsill.
“So we’re snowed in then?” I asked, keeping my voice as quiet as possible and still being heard by my friends. The two Torish turned to face me and looking at them side by side I could came to a realization. I was recognizing the markers of the northern Torish ethnicity. Taller, thick dirty blond or brown hair, and hassle eyes. Traser kept his facial hair trimmed, or even shaved as was the southern custom, but over the last few days he had allowed it to grow. It mirrored Zeds beard for thickness, if not in color or length, which I found interesting. Harry bunch these Torish, aren’t they? I thought as I walked up and joined my companions.
Ethria 3: The Liberator Page 16