by Dan Raxor
She snatched the bag, darting out of the tent. Lidia came in shivering next, with Harmony and Pete behind her. How the man kept his antlers from snagging on things while carrying a small metal burning stand was beyond me. The little girl had become a clean clingy to Lidia.
“Can we stay in your tent?” Lidia asked as Pete set the burn pit in the middle of the tent.
My tent was the biggest, and the only one meant to allow a fire with a vent stack if set up right.
“Yea, everyone staying behind should keep warm since there will be less bodies to heat the other tents. Keep a lookout at all times,” I said with a warning. “Lidia, don’t get captured. If you do, I’ll not suicide to save you.”
“I … I don’t like hearing that, but I made a choice to come out here. I kinda dreamed of Trimi. Not snow in the forest,” Lidia grumbled, rubbing Harmony’s arms. “Harmony is the best though. Did you know she can count to three?”
I laughed while they playfully counted to three.
“I’m worried about you, Trevor,” Lidia confessed then.
“Fret not, Lady Lidia, I’ll reap the magic these vile beings deliver upon their deaths and break the siege,” I said in a western drawl. “Stay alive and protect the camp.”
“We can go home you know,” Lidia said.
I paused at the tent exit.
“I know, Lidia,” I said with a smile. “Look. Fine wine, great sex, and streaming movies are awesome, but this is where I want to be. This is where I matter, events take random turns, and the gains are almost limitless. Plus, people do what I wish here, can’t get that on Earth without a lawsuit.”
“Be safe,” Pete said in a gruff tone.
“They’ll never know what hit them,” I said, leaving the tent to seek glories in battle.
CHAPTER 25
Lornia - Trimi
259th day of the 1st year of King Partel’s Reign
I hated running in the dark. Full disclaimer, it was more of a fast jog that I cheated by alternating between on and off horseback. I lit torches for our troops, giving enough brightness during the overcast night to see clearly. Our rapid pace was boring besides when we would stumble upon sleeping wildlife.
When a wild hog came running at me because a horse to my left spooks it, I may have squeaked at the animal’s sudden charge. Not the manliest reaction I’ve ever had. This running at night had me on edge, making my jaw sore from the constant grimace.
On the plus side, Sir Nathanael’s scouts were tracking the enemy. The wolf-kin were on the move, herding the majority of the livestock they captured. I guess that made sense, slaughtering a thousand pigs meant you had to carry them.
The enemy forces had split north of Trimi with the dwarves going northeast, and the wolf-kin straight east. The dwarven army was barely far enough from the wolf-kin forces they shouldn’t be able to hear us fight. If they did, our plan was screwed. We were relying on them not thinking we would be audacious enough to hit one of their armies now that they split.
The enemy was exhausted with both armies marching, day and night. Their leaders rushed them for the prize of Seema only to rush them home with their gains.
Targon mentioned that the fast marching was smart because there was no need to siege Trimi when you stole most of their unsecured food. He predicted they would wait until the depths of winter to continue raiding Trimi. Timing their assaults for when the population grew desperate due to starvation.
After all their success, it was apparent the enemy was dropping their guard. We finally cut ahead of their army without being noticed. Hell, they weren’t even sending scouts out any direction other than toward Trimi.
We found a nice ambush point along a natural ravine. Ahead of us there was a section of rugged terrain with minimal pine trees, allowing for a nice and open firing area. Sir Nathanael and Norlan agreed that this was our best ambush spot.
Even though we were hidden in waiting, I was nervous. The enemy vastly outnumbered us, to the point I had butterflies and sweaty palms.
The chilly wind howled with a stiff breeze pushing the trees away from us. The opposing army howled jovially in the distance. Based on that noise I figured in maybe ten minutes or so they would be within range. There was an extra layer of internal dread. I didn’t like that I was the key to the victory.
My decision to rush into a fight was predicated on the idea that the enemy was a small force. I didn’t realize we were going to go against four to five hundred wolf humanoids with bows and spears. While they had the numbers advantage, we had three things going for us.
One was the surprise because of our ambush at night. The bows I brought from Earth to Lornia turned into badass wooden bows that hit hard.
Then there was me, I was going to burn them all.
The sound of rustling off to my left stole my attention. A scuffle in the dark said there was an altercation that resulted in a muffled whimper. Libby and Susanna tensed from what was likely a scout walking right into our battle lines.
My mage’s circle were all looking at the dark spot in the forest. The joyful howling of the oblivious army neared, revealing the enemy was spread out, and the front of the formation was arriving.
“Now’s yer chance,” Targon said.
We were at the part of my plan where we had to commit or divert. I was shocked they selected my plan.
Yeah, planning was kind of my thing, but I knew nothing of battles.
Right when I was about to respond the glowing purple light of a dead, or dying, body revealed itself. I absorbed the power equally into all the gems among my minor mages, a large smirk from the ecstasy of the power.
“I take that as we’re stayin’,” Targon said with whispering grunt.
“Yes,” I replied evenly.
For whatever reason, my soul was changing. Even as I hunched behind a set of elevated trees on the hill in the pitch-black, I could feel myself becoming something different.
That simple yes was given by a leader. Not me faking to be one, but a true leader.
There would be death, and while I may have my justifications, I was still the cause for this ambush. People I trained with, and who were woefully under trained, to be line soldiers, were maybe going to die. My soul accepted this with resolute determination.
A loud grunting sound came from the darkness to my left again.
Another energy ball lifted off a body for me to drain. Then two more energy orbs appeared after snaps of bows. The enemy was still oblivious to their right side walking into a trap. The animals that were being herded knew.
How they knew, or if they could out smell the wolf-kin, I was uncertain, but there were squeals and moos. Even with the commotion from the animals the foe continued to die by ones and twos.
I was impressed by Sir Nathanael’s men. They were eliminating the foe with each kill being clean, quick, and mostly silent.
Eventually, the enemy stumbling into our hidden troops were too many, and the howling death of a missed shot resulted in the night’s bliss transforming into chaos.
I opened myself up to the gem in my staff and neck, allowing energy to surge through me. The spare power hovering over bodies was directly ingested into my core.
I radiated power, so much power that I felt a mix of sickness and loved it. When I unleashed the first fire ball at the enemy right flank, it was far grander than I expected.
A monstrous ball of flame the size of a house hit the forest, rolling towards the unprepared foe. The high pitched screams of a tormented death cut over the howls of enemy leaders trying to organize a defense.
The spell continued to roll for hundreds of feet, igniting trees like matches. The forest bloomed into daylight with the immense fire wall I created on the right flank of the enemy forces.
Archers snapped arrows into the left flank of the shocked wolf-kin. My archers had clean vision while our foes were holding hands up at the sudden brightness.
The wolf-kin crumbled, cried out, and died under the rapid barrage.
&nbs
p; With the animals spooked from the flames, they headed left, past the dying wolf-kin who were supposed to keep the herd in check. There was a stampede of hogs, cows, and a few horses, desperate to flee the roaring fire that wafted out heat.
My vision shifted to the fire.
Flickering flames were bright, and yet, getting dimmer. It was winter with snow on the ground which countered the magic.
Those I incinerated into ashes never gave me energy to absorb. Those who died slowly exuded so much glorious power I shivered in delight.
The problem was a lot of the floating energy was out of my reach. Something I’d never been able to test before was how far I could claim power. Now I knew it was roughly two hundred feet.
With the animals clearing the war zone I stepped forward. I needed that power, leaving it was not an option. Of course, I only stepped about five paces when the enemy mage revealed herself.
A wolf-kin female at least ten feet tall walked before troops scrambling into formations. Her hands spooled into slow circles casting a spell.
She was the main threat. We were remiss on being able to calculate her capabilities, and I grew concerned at her spell. She was very confident which only added to my worry.
Archers shifted, seeking her as a primary target as bows twanged from the entirety of our forces.
Her spell stopped.
A cackling laugh escaped her lips as she used wind to not only halt our arrows, but send them back for us. I dove behind a tree for cover. Luckily, the spell wasn’t instant.
The thunk of arrows landing among us resulted in a few cries of pain. I peeked out only to have a wolf-kin volley falling into our section of forest added by her wind spell. An arrow cracked into the side of the tree I hid behind careening further into the trees with a shattering of bark.
Even with the troops in cover and the trees in the way, there were additional anguished screams.
After the volley abated I left my cover to see the enemy mage raising mounds of dirt with her circular spells. Her arms sway with her rhythmic moves.
The tendrils of power came from inside her to flow into the magical creations. I knew she was nearing the final aspects of her spell as the magic thinned.
“Keep firing on her, she doesn’t have unlimited energy!” I bellowed.
A few steps forward allowed me to gain access to new orbs of energy over bodies. I already saw distant orbs drifting down into the dirt, vanishing forever from my reach. I grimaced and cursed at the developing events.
While I filled with power I felt two orbs from within my ranks add to my stores, bringing me to a sickening fullness.
The enemy mage clapped her hands, completing her spell, and staggering in exhaustion. An aged, grey haired, wolf-kin that was likely an alpha caught her before she could collapse.
The sneer on his face said it all. He felt we were doomed from her spell.
I watched the mounds rising from the soil twisting in swirls of dirt. The loose bits of grit, mud, and rocks coalesced to a form of golem.
These earthen monstrosities towered high, rising to the height of a two story house. They shook loose dirt from their frame in anger, roaring with their awakening.
Yes! I wanted golem magic!
That thought raced through my mind until I realized I had no way to defeat them myself.
While I watched, I felt the power within threatening to overwhelm me, leaving me no choice. I leveled my left palm at the cheering forces behind the golems.
Those fools think slow mounds of dirt will save them.
Searing heat left my palm in controlled bursts. There was so much force ejecting from my hand that my feet dug into the forest floor as I was pushed back. Each blast was short, creating swirling orbs of flames.
As the fireballs the size of a head shot forth there was a bloom of light revealing my location.
The intense unleashing added an extra brightness to the night, causing me to squint.
I exuded flame like a sprinkler head, aiming left to right among the foes hundreds of feet away. The power drained rapidly as I expended controlled and sustained firing.
A small hand touched my exposed left shoulder and another bigger one on the right. That would be Mist and Libby creating our conduit circle.
There was a surge in available power, allowing me to continue to dispense my volley of incredible fireballs. When I completed my left to right motion, the still forming golems lumbered slowly for us.
“Run!” I commanded.
The flames of the battle showed the shocked expressions of Sir Nathanael, Norlan, and Targon. They probably expected me to defeat earth golems with fire. I’m sure they were wondering how the hell I completely missed the massive magical creations.
“Run!” I growled this time. “The fucking livestock is fleeing anyway!” I glanced over my shoulder to see if they’d gone.
“Holy shit!” I blurted.
My fireballs had lit the wolf-kin army in a devastating display of power, setting the forces ablaze. Shields that tried to halt my infernos were pushed aside or melted.
The unlucky wolf-kin stared at chunks of their body that were disintegrated. The lucky ones smoldered on the forest floor in death.
The enemy formation had deteriorated to chaos as wolf-kin routed to seek safety. Orbs of energy that were mine for the taking drifted over the enemy army.
At that moment I knew my arcane powers had washed away over a hundred lives. Their forces were retreating, just like ours. Huge golems were chasing us unfortunately, and they were very close.
I found my horse, Daisy, and Susanna hoisted me into the seat with a hip clenching throw.
I grunted from the hard landing, snatching the reins off the horn. This horse was awesome, so I felt bad kicking the shit out of her ribs to spur her forward
She bolted toward the enemy in retreat. I raced for the floating energy that was available, which drew me closer to the golems.
The holy hell I unleashed was too much. I was drained, needing more energy already, and we needed to win if another fight arose.
Daisy bolted forward and I felt the floating orbs were close and yet so far. Nearing where the enemy once stood definitely revealed more of my damage.
Stumbling half burned wolf-kin were in agony, their howls were pitiful. Whole units were on the ground, smoke whipping off their corpses from the burning fur and fat.
The survivors were heading north away from us, giving me space to approach. I skirted the golem’s path to ingest just enough energy to refill my gems.
Spinning Daisy to head back to my forces, I heard an unexpected sound.
A nearing thundering of hooves crashed against the hard forest floor. I looked around with confusion. From behind the surviving wolf-kin charged dozens of gleaming dwarven knights atop rams.
My hopes that they would crash into our foes were dashed. The dwarven cavalry split, curving around their allies. I realized everything I knew was as good as gone.
There was no escaping the mounted enemy. The slow golems we could flee from on foot, but not these fast moving rams. They were too many to handle and would rout our troops.
Desperation washed over me, adding to the despair that ripped at my heart.
A single option flicked into my brain and I hated the thought. I was destined for great things and could replace those warriors, and yet, I didn’t want to. There was an emotional connection to them and by proxy my sister in our base.
Being the hero I felt I wasn't, I raced Daisy to meet the dwarven cavalry head on. Urging the horse into the dead wolf-kin orbs I’d found excessive.
Suddenly I became in engulfed in the purple. Entire swaths were absorbed and I unlocked so much power I had to stop ingesting it. Except I didn't. Something converted inside my core. Any explanation was lost to me.
After a split second in time, I discovered what happened when I ingested excessive amounts of power.
I burst into flames, igniting not only my clothing into a roaring melting blaze, but also s
etting Daisy’s saddle on fire.
She gave a horrific whine, flinging me from her back as she stopped and fell.
I tumbled myself into a crouch to see the crazy horse extinguish the flames, get up, rear kick a wolf-kin to death, and flee for my troops.
Holy shit! Horses were awesome.
Funny the things you find amusing and interesting when you're literally on fire.
Enemy cavalry continued their charge for me, undeterred by that fact I was now nude, standing against them in a bath of flames.
I let out a long and boisterous cackling laugh.
With my staff in cinders, I leveled two palms at each flank of rams with dwarf riders.
The bright illumination caused reflections on their shiny armor and lances. The cavalry captain realized far too late that I was not some random mage on fire.
The power that burst forth from my hands was diabolical in its magnitude.
Tendrils of magic snaked, twisted, and encased the oncoming threats. My exiting energy was quickly replenished as the magic killed, unleashing new orbs to ingest.
What I saw my spells produce was a mix of horror that defied reality.
The flames melted metal. When my armor became liquid earlier, my skin washed it down my inflamed body. The dwarves held no magical aversion to armor turned to slag.
Watching a dwarven foe melt until his body imploded from the heat was delightfully disgusting.
By the dozens riders and their mounts crashed to the ground, feeding me fuel with their deaths. A boom from my right shook the ground, giving my feet a slight bounce.
I had been informed that the casual observation of dwarven deaths while standing still was a mistake.
The golems were on my heels, forcing me to run for the cavalry that was turning to get distance from the crazy human fire mage. Fireballs shot from my hands, crashing into the now fleeing foes.
My feet carried me too far toward the enemy.
There was a sudden whistle that grew louder.
A stray arrow sunk into my guts, punching out my back, and leaving the white fletching one a few inches from my flesh.
