31 – New Level, New Spell

The halfling woman’s smile faltered. “We lost two farmers last week.”

“Why didn’t you say so sooner?” Bagavash said, suddenly quite serious. “You know we can help with that, Daphne.”

“It’s not my place to burden you with the problems of our little village,” Daphne said, bowing her head. “I’m sure you have much greater things to attend to.”

“It would be our honor to help you out, my lady,” Linli said.

“Yes,” Erl agreed. “Farmers should not perish for a lack of effort on our part.”

“Really?” Daphne said. “It would mean a lot to us. I’d even throw in a free tin of our fresh harvest for all of you.”

“We’re happy to pay for our leaf,” Bagavash said. “And take care of your fellwolf problem as well. It’s the least we can do after everything you’ve given us over the years.”

“Thank you wizards so much,” the little tobacco purveyor said, bowing deeply. “We would be in your debt.”

“Nonsense,” Alynur said. “Your problems are our problems. We are all connected. Where have the attacks been originating from?”

“Oakfell Forest,” Daphne said. “To the west.”

Before we left, we bought heaps of tobacco, not only the new blends that Daphne had us try, but also the old classics that the wizards loved. I hadn’t quite figured out which was my favorite yet, but I went with several tins of the one that had tasted like baked figs. I still had a bit of the Green Dragon Blink left, but figured I should hold on to it for when I had to refresh the stain on my staff.

The journey to Oakfell was swift, and we found ourselves ensconced in a dark forest before mid-afternoon. The canopy choked out the light, turning the world to shadow and shifting gray. We were soon greeted by the snarls and bared teeth of fellwolves lurking among the trees.

“These fellas seem particularly nasty,” Linli said, looking warily around. As we progressed further into the forest, the wolves began to close in behind us.

They were easily twice the size of normal wolves, with a stripe of raised fur along their spine and glowing red eyes.

“Fear not,” Alynur said. “We will make quick work of these fiends.”

“Okay,” Linli said. “But when? They’re just getting closer, and I’m pretty sure they outnumber us ten to one.”

The circle shrank. A branch snapped somewhere behind us. A blur of muscle shifted in the undergrowth.

“NOW!” Alynur called just as one of the forerunners lunged towards Bagavash.

Everything exploded into motion.

Bagavash brandished his staff. “[Lightning Spear]!” he roared, and a lance of white-blue energy erupted forward, skewering the beast midair. It spasmed once before going limp, the smell of ozone sharp in the air.

Erl, being surrounded by forest and a scattered foe, could not resort to his signature [Fireball], so he activated his arcane art instead. He moved with a fiery fury, leaving heaps of charred fellwolves in his wake.

Senior Archmage Alynur lifted his staff, and it dissolved into a flock of white doves. They were beautiful for a moment… before the air filled with a storm of wings and piercing cries as they slammed into the wolves at impossible speed, tearing into the wolves with their razor-sharp beaks.

To my surprise, Myrl cast [Summon Cat], and Scryer leapt forth from the spell circle. I was bewildered why he would choose that spell until Linli cast [Greater Enlarge] on the hissing and spitting feline.

Scryer swelled, bones stretching, muscles bulking, fur bristling outward until a monstrous feline loomed where the small cat had been. Like a smilodon from prehistoric times. He let out a roar that shook the trees, and then he went to work.

Claws flashed. Bodies flew. One wolf was swatted aside hard enough to splinter a tree trunk on impact. Another disappeared beneath Scryer’s jaws with a wet crunch. The cat moved with terrifying joy, tearing through the pack like it had been waiting its entire life for this moment.

That left me. Without warning, one of the wolves who had circled around to the back jumped at me. It bared teeth the size of knives as it flew through the air. I barely had time to react. Almost instinctively, I activated Black Meridian just as the feral creature bit down on my arm.

I shut my eyes, expecting pain.

But there was nothing.

When I opened them again, the wolf was trying in vain to get some purchase on my arm, to pierce my skin in some way, but the void mana was doing its work, negating all momentum. The wolf might as well have been gnawing on a piece of stone.

I held it back with my forearm as it snarled and snapped. Thinking quickly, I pointed my staff at the beast’s head and uttered, “[Void Shot].”

[Void Blade] would probably have worked just as well, but I wanted to try out my new spell. The bundle of void mana gathered energy for a split second before firing into the fellwolf’s skull. It passed through with no resistance, and the beast fell limp onto the ground, blood and bits of brain leaking out onto the earth.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

By the time I gathered my senses, the wizards had taken care of the rest of the pack.

Scryer shrank back to his normal size and jumped on Myrl’s shoulder, licking the blood from his paws and clearly quite pleased with himself.

The flock of doves coalesced back into the shape of a staff and returned to Alynur’s hand.

We spent the next twenty minutes collecting the monster orbs that hung hauntingly in the forest air.

“You want to use any of these?” Bagavash said, holding one out to me in his palm.