A Mage Prepared

by Thomas Whipple

  I lead her a couple hills over to the spot I want. I saw it earlier when Thia was scouting. Two hills that are close together and at an angle to the patrols that will make it hard for the next one to see. When we get there I cast Fog so that it covers the area next to the patrol but between the hills. A few seconds later a patrol moves in front of the little valley the hills create and I hit one of it's members with a Mana Bolt to get their attention. They all go on alert and step into the fog to search for me. There are four in the patrols around the town and this group consists of a couple of kobold brawlers, a goblin archer and a kobold with a club that Identify says is a warrior.

  Since the archer can't see us while we are in the fog it also runs in. I don't even bother with it as it's almost useless when it can't see anything at a distance. I pat Timbre on the head and whisper "Go get him girl" while pointing at the archer. She gives me a lick on the arm before running at him at a much higher speed than before. Having leveled with me she is much stronger and faster than she was before. Timbre should be able to take out the archer with no problem. I turn to the brawler that I hit with the Mana Bolt. He has the skill that makes him turn a little red all over active and he is swinging his fists around trying to hit something. Pointing the staff at him, I cast. My spell pierces it from behind, causing a little blood to spurt out of the wound around the earth and rock. Watching it for a second I can see that it's still alive, though it's health is low. A few seconds after casting it the Earth Spike crumbles to the ground, and blood gushes out of the open wound in the kobold. A couple seconds is all that it takes for it to bleed to death.

  Looking over to my companions I see they are all fighting the last brawler. Timbre killed the archer in short order and the combination of Thia and Azzaria took out the warrior. They all converged on the lone enemy remaining. I fire a Mana Bolt into its back, just to do something, and a moment later it dies to an arrow in the eye by Azzaria. We quickly kill the bugs and watch for the next patrol. It has been less than two minutes but already one patrol passed by. There is something like six or seven patrols from what Thia says, but the village is so small that they can patrol the small area that is not against the lake or the cliff fairly quickly. The next group comes by shortly and we deal with them in a similar manner as the other. "Loot quickly and let's pull back a little. I want to top off my mana before we continue." I still had more than a third but I don't want to be too low if something unexpected happens. After I get my Mana back we repeat the process a few more times.

  It's the last patrol now and it is still a couple hours before sunset. I just drew the group of four in and killed the first one I hit with an Earth Spike when that unexpected thing I was worrying about happened. Three more monsters joined us in the fog. The spell has a decent area of affect but seven enemies and the four of us is getting a little crowded. Because I was furthest back I took the first hit on my barrier. I stumble forward and turn around to see a kobold swordsman swinging at me again. Ignoring it, I cast a Earth Spike that pierces it through the left thigh. It screams in pain and I put it down with a Mana Bolt at point blank. Looking around I can see that another kobold has wandered up behind Azzaria and is about to strike. Panic grips my heart when I see the blade coming for her and I act without even thinking. Not having time to cast, I throw myself on Azzaria knocking us both to the ground. I was still hit by the swordsman who broke my barrier and left a shallow cut on my back.

  Turning over I am in time to see the monster raise its sword for a fatal strike. I start casting my barrier again but I know it won't be in time. Just as the kobold starts to bring the sword down Timbre comes out of nowhere and bites into its throat. With Timbre's take down and the way she is tearing into that kobold I am not worried about that one any more. Azzaria is up before me and gives me a hand. "Are you OK?" She looks worried but we need to finish this so I call out to Thia in my mind. She just finished off the one her and Azzaria were fighting by herself and I can feel the smugness through our bond. I tell her to attack the archer that is left from the group that surprised us. I get a confirmation mentally from her right before she turns into lightning and shoots over to appear above her target. Having got the barrier back on, I go to take on the last brawler that has finally stumbled close enough to see something. The kobold charges me but I cast Earth Spike right in front of it, causing it to impale itself through the stomach. It still has some fight in it so I use Mana Bolt to finish it off.

  Looking around at the aftermath of our fight I see that the last one is dead now. We all pitch in to kill the beetles before they can get away and then move back to a safe distance from the village. We all plop our butts down on the ground, except Thia who is perched on my shoulder rubbing against my cheek. She is worried about me is the feeling that comes through the bond. Azzaria has a worried look on her face too and scoots over on my left. "Let me see it." She says bluntly. "What's the point? It will be fully healed in a couple hours." She shakes her head at me and pulls out a canteen. "We need to clean it or you can get an infection. The infection debuff will make it take longer to heal and who knows what was on that blade it hit you with." I can't argue with that since I didn't even think that could happen with the accelerated healing here. Again I am reminded that this is NOT a game.

  I take off my shirt and she fusses over me for a few minutes cleaning out the cut on my back. When she is done she holds out her hand for my shirt and I give it to her. She uses her profession to patch it up and the small cut that was on my cloak too. "Thanks for patching up my cloths" I tell her. "It's the least I could do since you saved me back there. I could have been hurt pretty badly if he had landed that blow on me without me noticing him." She looks a little disturbed by the thought. She turns to me after a moment and puts her hand on my arm. "Thank you Vol." I feel a little embarrassed by the way she is looking at me with such gratitude. "It's nothing Azzaria, we are teammates. Anyone would have done it" I get out through my embarrassment. She shakes her head at me "Not everyone" she says. Then she leans over and kisses me on the cheek before standing up. "Alright Vol, we took out everything on the outside and we still have some light. Let's clear out the huts and find a place to get some rest."

  It doesn't take long to clear out the huts that make up the village. I just cast a Fog on one of the huts to conceal what is happening before Azzaria, Thia, and I stand just outside the door or window raining down death in the confines of the huts. All the occupants were sleeping and didn't know what was going on until it was too late. Checking how much progress toward my next level I made I can see that, after over 50 enemies my level that we killed in the village and however many on the way, I'm only at 38 percent. It's definitely getting harder to level. I do have almost 1400 copper now though, just from this journey. As the sun sets I have Thia checking around the village. There are a couple of patrols that head in as it is getting dark so we take them out as they come. We go and find a spot that has some bushes to use for cover near the cliff face. It's near the water so our spot is a good distance from the village and the cave is on the other side of that. Eating quietly we hunker down behind the bushes, set the Ward Stone and Azzaria lays down to go to sleep.

  "Vol?"

  "Yes Azzaria?'

  "Don't stay up too late before waking me for watch. We need to be in top form for tomorrow. Also..."

  "What?"

  "...Thanks again for saving me earlier."

  "Always. Now get some rest."

  She turns over and puts her back against Timbre. Now that I have time I can check my messages.

  Earth Magic has reached lvl 2.

  Your familiar's skill: Knifewings has reached lvl 2.

  Water Magic has reached lvl 2.

  Your familiar's skill: Ride the Lightning has reached lvl 2.

  Time Magic has reached lvl 2.

  Advanced Mana Control has reached lvl 2.

  Your familiar's skill: Zapp has reached lvl 6.

  Earth Magic has reached lvl 3.

  Your familiar's skill:
Knifewings has reached lvl 3.

  I am surprised that my Earth magic leveled up twice but with how much I have been using it, not too surprised. Leveling skills and abilities also seems to be pretty easy until level 5. Probably gets harder at level 10 too. With nothing else to do I sit on watch thinking about all that has happened to me since coming here. It has only been a few weeks and I already feel like I belong here far more than I did back on Earth. I heard some movement from the village of huts every now and then but the Ward Stone had done its job and no one bothered us during my shift. When the moons were directly overhead and side by side I woke Azzaria and went to sleep myself.

  Chapter 12

  Waking was not pleasant. It was early and the sun was blinding even before I opened my eyes. Putting my hand up to block the sun I take a look around. Azzaria is over by the bushes looking toward the village. I sit up and join her. "See anything?" She nods her head and looks over at me. "There are a few that I think came out of the cave, but not as many as I expected. I think that the majority of them are out looking for more host bodies. I only saw two patrols of five that I think came from the cave, but they are alert and searching the area. There may be more that I can't see though."

  I send a mental go ahead to Thia and she takes off to look around from the air. Linking my sight with her I get a ride along to see the enemy units in the morning light. Looks like Azzaria is right about the ones from the cave only having two patrols. They are on opposite sides of the village from each other and are circling it while looking around for something. That something is probably us. There are more enemies though. Looks like some of the ones from the surrounding area have made their way back to the village because there are a few wandering around. "There are more in the village but I think they are ones from the area around the village. Two groups of five with better gear are circling the village. Each of those groups has a caster with them. One of the groups is going to pass by here soon."

  "Do you think we can take them?" Azzaria looks a little nervous facing that many. "We can, but the caster is a wild card and I want to get a look at both groups before we attack." I tell her this with confidence that I don't have at the moment because I can't let her be demoralized right before a fight. When they pass by I use Identify on them and see that they are all level 11. There are two brawlers, a swordsman and a thief in addition to the caster. All are kobolds except for the thief and the caster. They are all wearing leather pants and a leather vest, a huge upgrade compared to the loincloths all the others we faced had. Their weapons also look a little better. The blades of the swordsman and the thief look clean and rust free and the brawlers even have metal plated leather gloves on.

  The caster is a lighter skinned goblin that is obviously older and carries a scepter like object, leather cords with beads dangling from it. He is also wearing gray robes that look like they are in decent condition. I waited for him last to use Identify on in case it tips him off that we are here and we have to fight. It didn't, so I discovered that he is a Shaman of the Wind. I tell Azzaria all of this as I see it. We both agree that the caster is probably going to take out my fog shortly after starting but the first couple of seconds will give us an advantage of surprise. After learning what we can, we let them go and check out the other team when it comes by.

  They also have two brawlers and a swordsman in addition to the caster, but instead of a thief they have an archer. They are all kobolds except the archer. The caster for them gives me a little worry though. Level 12 Pyromaniac. That kobold could definitely be a problem, but I think he can be useful to me during the fight. He looks kind of manic and he keeps playing with a little fireball in his hands. His subclass, along with his demeanor, makes me think he is unstable. Perfect! "That's my bitch right there" I say to Azzaria while pointing toward the fire mage. She raises her eyebrows "What do you mean? That is probably going to be the most dangerous enemy we have faced to date" she whisper yells at me. "Yep, but not just to us." She is looking at me confusedly when I sit back to wait. "I want to take out the other group first before we face those guys. Lets wait for a minute while I do some thinking." I go over the plan that is forming in my mind on what to do with the second group. We already came up with a plan for the first one so I'm not worried about that now.

  Something like 20 or 30 minutes has passed now and the first patrol we saw is headed our way. I buff up with Magic Cloak and Haste. I caste Haste a little early so that I can cast again on Azzaria right before the fight. Timbre is off to my right and Azzaria to the left. Thia is keeping above the action for now, but she will swoop into the fog and attack when we get started. After putting Haste on Azzaria I point at the spot in front of the patrol and cast my Fog spell. I was right and the mage immediately starts casting something. I start walking his direction but focus on the swordsman. The right brawler is already on the ground with Timbre mauling him. He didn't see her coming when the fog came out of nowhere. Thia stunned the thief before it could dodge and with Azzaria to help she is taking it apart. That leaves the other brawler, but he is looking around without seeing anything.

  Not wasting any more time I point my staff at the swordsman and an Earth Spike pierces it in the back of the neck. It must have been a critical hit or something with the surprise attack because he almost instantly goes limp. At that moment a strong gust of wind comes in and makes me lean into it so that I don't fall. It only lasted a couple of seconds but that was enough for it to clear the fog from my spell. Now visible to our foes, they let out their scream and attack. Azzaria and Thia finished off the thief and are taking up the remaining brawler now, and I am still walking toward the mage when I fire a Mana Bolt at him. It stops just before reaching him and I can tell there is no damage.

  I have his attention though, and he finishes a quick chant before he points his scepter at me. There is a distortion in the air that rushes at me. If I was just relying on my sight then I would not have been able to get a bead on it, but the mana it consisted of was easy for me to detect. That isn't good since I can sense it so well because of the large amount of mana that made it. I drop to a knee and feel the spell sail over me before casting my own Earth Spike and stepping forward again. My earth spell got through his barrier though. Didn't outright kill him but it went into a thigh, making it hard for him to move around. I send another Mana Bolt to keep him focused on me instead of getting free. The Shaman of the Wind turns back to me with a snarl and starts another chant. I made sure he didn't finish it when I jumped forward swinging my staff. In the air I think of my new skill and the end of the staff I am swinging starts to glow blue. I contact him on the shoulder and hear a little snap and then a scream of pain and loathing from the shaman. He is rolling on the ground clutching his head. Not passing up a good thing I cast another Earth spike and the result lifts the goblin two feet off the ground after going all the way through its chest.

  Turning to the rest of my team I see that they too are finished. "Hey Azzaria." She comes over to me at the call to see the dead shaman. I fire off a Mana Bolt at the beetle that comes from the swordsman while Thia and Timbre are mopping up the others. When one leaves the shaman Azzaria arrives and steps on it with a boot, which is attached to a slender and shapely leg, then to a backside tha...I shake my head to clear it from the backside that Azzaria so perfectly presented to me and look back to her face. I can see the slightest of curls at the edge of her rosy lips when she asks "You wanted something?" Is she doing this on purpose? I take another moment to remember the question I had then say "Right. I hit this guy with the interrupt skill I got before and afterwards he was gripping his head and moaning. I hit him in the shoulder though so I was wondering, is there some kind of blowback or something if a spell is interrupted?"

  "O, right. That would be important to you. There is sometimes. It depends on the spell and your stats but it can happen. It is especially so with a skill like interrupt since it can cause such an abrupt end to the spell it is more likely to cause that issue." I squat down to loot it now that
the spike crumbled. He has a little change and the rod which is not worth keeping but no spell book as I hoped. Then I see something shiny around his neck. Reaching down I pull a chain and pendant out of the robes at his neckline. It looks to be made of silver and the chain is in an interlocking pattern that lays flat. Definitely not goblin craftsmanship. The pendant is also made of silver and in the shape of a tier drop with a similarly shaped emerald set in it.

  Silver Necklace of the Mind: A simple yet elegant necklace made of silver and a small emerald. Item class: Uncommon. Durability: 15/15. +1 INT, +1WIS.

  Showing Azzaria the necklace she says "You should take it. You'll get the most use out of it." Not arguing since it is true I put it on. "Thanks Azzaria. I am sure we will find some stuff for you." Quickly dragging the bodies out of the way we hide again and wait for the next patrol. While we wait I continue to wonder why a possessed creature would act like the caster we are about to fight. I quickly put it out of my mind when the patrol comes in sight. "OK everyone, we are going to do this one a little differently than the others. Stay back until I say." I go to stand when Azzaria grabs my arm stopping me. I put my hand over hers and talk before she has a chance "Don't worry. I know what I am doing." She lets go reluctantly and I start to creep forward a little.

  When the five monsters are all in range I cast Fog and catch all of them in the spell. I watch the caster for what he is going to do in case he can do something about the fog. He is jittery and looking all over, with a fireball in each hand. Seeing that gives me an idea, but for now I sneak into the fog and then behind one of the brawlers. But instead of attacking the brawler, I point may staff at the Pyromaniac. My Mana Bolt hits it in the shoulder just as I am diving to the side. I feel a blast of hot air hit me in the back as I am landing. Turning onto my side I can see the brawler I was standing behind is on the ground and burning quite well. It is moving a little, but I doubt it will be for long. Looking back to the caster I see him create another fireball in each hand. Rolling away from the burning brawler I get up and move to the next closest enemy.