A Mage Prepared

by Thomas Whipple

  Grondar turns to me "It's not that easy. First we need to track them and then we will need to scout out their forces. All of that takes time and by the time we catch them they might be out of the forest. We can't risk that they will have reinforcements waiting."

  "None of that will be a problem because my familiar is following them as we speak. She can do all the scouting we need as I lead everyone to the wagons they are using. They weren't traveling very fast since they are using the wagons to transport the prisoners and obscuring their trail as they go. We should be able to catch them tonight, even if we take the time we need to get a fast moving party together." After saying all this everyone is staring at me like they are trying to come up with a good reason why that won't work.

  After a few awkward moments Dolan turns his searching gaze on Grondar. "Will that work?"

  Grondar takes a moment to compose himself and think before answering. "Yes. I don't see why not. Can you help coordinate a strike and show us where the guards are during the night?"

  "Not a problem. From the info Thia got there are 12 soldiers with the wagons now and she heard that there should be a few more arriving soon. I expect we should prepare for more than 20 soldiers. How long will it take you to get everything ready?"

  Grondar looks to a guard near the door and they exchange some hand signals that I am unfamiliar with. "Thirty minutes" he tells me when they finish.

  "Great! We will meet you at the field North East of the village in a little more than 30 minutes." Saying that I leave the room with Azzaria and Timbre following behind.

  When I get outside I hear someone call out to me. "Magus Adare!" I turn to the left to see a man dressed in chain mail armor walking up. He has black and white ears as well as a striped tail. "My name is Derl and I heard what you did for my wife. She told me you promised to get my daughter back as well. I just wanted to thank you" he says to me sincerely.

  "No need to thank me. I just did what anyone would do. Don't worry, we will get Zia back" I tell him seriously. "Come find me on the field when we get moving. We'll make sure your little girl gets through this and back to her mom." Getting a nod from him Azzaria, Timbre and I head back to our house to prepare.

  Chapter 18

  Back at the house I flop down on the couch with Azzaria doing the same and leaning against me. "You should check to see if you leveled up your Life magic." I can tell she looks through her messages because her eyes look like she is staring at something right in front of her. Then she takes out the Spell Book for Blessing of Life. It's required level is only three or more in Life magic, so her efforts today healing and casting roots paid off enough for her to advance that far. Looking into my own messages I can see that I gained a level in Water and Time magic while I got two in Air magic. With this increase I can learn three spells from the books I have saved. I do the same as Azzaria and pull them out and begin reading. I finish a few minutes later by dumping the dust leftover from the last spell book into the bucket that is still here from yesterday. Then I pull up the descriptions of the spells I learned.

  Lightning: Fires a bolt of lightning into the enemy, and possibly causing a 2 second paralysis. Range: 50 Feet. Cost: 40 MP. Base Dmg: 60-70.

  Waterspout: Fires a jet of water that pushes the target back. Chance to cause Drenched debuff: reduces effectiveness of fire type spells by 20%, and increases cold and lightning effects by 10% for 1 min. Duration: 2 Secs. Cooldown: 10 Secs. Range: 15 feet. Cost: 20 MP. Base Dmg: 5-10.

  Reverse Pain: Turns back time on ones injuries, healing the person for a small amount. Speed and overall amout healed dependent on caster's INT and Time magic level. Cooldown: 15 Secs. Range: 10 feet. Cost: 35 MP.

  Some utility in the Time and Water spells, but the Air spell is what I was looking forward to, and the reason I have been leaning towards Air magic today. Its single target damage is the best though. Done with learning the new spells, there is another message that I need to address.

  LEVEL UP! You have increased your level by 1. You are now level 12. As a Void Human you get 6 points to apply to your Stats and 1 talent point. As you are a Mage +1 INT +1 WIS are allocated. You currently have 4 undistributed SP and 1 undistributed TP. You can distribute these from your status page. Continue to increase your level to follow the path of true power. Fight for the RIGHT to survive!

  LEVEL UP! Your Familiar Thia has increased in level by 1. Thia is now level 12. As your Familiar she gets 5 points to apply to her Stats and 2 talent points. Thia currently has 5 undistributed SP and 1 undistributed TP. You can distribute these from your familiar's status page. Continue to increase your Familiar's level to follow the path of true power. Fight for the RIGHT to survive!

  Time to think about what to do with my stat points. So far I have focused on my magic, but with the new staff and dagger that I have my casting is already much stronger than it would be. With our upcoming trip I decide to split my free points between VIT and AGI. It should provide some extra speed and endurance that will help in our pursuit. Next is a defensive talent that is on the path I am working on in my talent tree. Phase is a spell that will take me between dimensions where I will be invulnerable to damage for 10 seconds. It does have a rather high mana cost of 100 MP though. The next level I gain will allow me to get the Folded Space talent that I have had my eye on. It is a short range talent, but gives me hope for a more long range teleport like ability to come. With no cars or planes on this world exploring would be very difficult without something like that. I want to travel the world, but I also want to have a home to go back to.

  Done with my advancement I move on to Thia's. For her stats I place one in VIT and 2 each in INT and WIS. With the two talent points now available I follow the Branch of the talent tree for Ride the Lightning. It forks again and the side I take is for Chain Lightning, and has a limit of three. It will allow Thia to shoot a lightning bolt that will then jump to additional targets. The first tier is for two additional targets and three additional for the second. It does good damage but costs a lot. There is also a 10 second cooldown, so she can't repeatedly cast it. Still, it's the only thing she has so far that will damage multiple targets. Like Zapp, there is also a chance to paralyze. Finished, I double check my messages and that all points have been distributed before I close out everything.

  Looking over to Azzaria I can see that she is done by the look in her eyes. She is looking back at me and seems to be waiting for me to finish. "I want to empty all the left over junk in my storage, just in case I need the room." We both get up off the couch and head to the spare room that I used the first time I was here. I start to take out all the weapons, armor, and other miscellaneous things that we picked up to sell but haven't gotten around to yet. When I'm done Azzaria looks to me. "Wow, I didn't think there was so much. We will have to make it a priority to sell it off when this is over." To that I can only nod. Because I was distracted by my other projects I forgot about all the excess stuff I had in storage. Not having to look at it or deal with the weight could make me a pack rat. I make a mental note to go through the storage space every so often in order to clear it out.

  Preparations complete, we head to the rendezvous site where everyone that is going has formed up into ranks. They are arranged in five columns that are six deep each with Grondar and Derl standing in front of the formation. Grondar waves us over when he sees us and we walk over to speak with him. "Hello Grondar, Derl" I say nodding to each in turn. "We don't have time to waste so lets get this started. They are following a path that looks to be an old road. Thia has shown me that they do have scouts following behind in case of pursuit, but they are not far from the rear of the group so we can move fast at first. I think we can catch up to them if we hurry and can hit them as they set up camp. Hopefully that will be an inopportune moment for them. When they start to set up I will use Thia to direct us to the scouts to take them out while we move everyone into position. Other than that I will try to discuss it with you in more detail when we find where they will stop. Do you have
anything for me?"

  Grondar looks to me as he thinks for a minute. "I know the old road that you speak of, and it's in bad enough condition that their wagons won't be able to go very fast. It also leads to a river where there used to be a bridge. If they have wagons then they must have repaired the old one or at least set up a temporary one. I can deal with that after we get the villagers that were taken back. We will have to discuss it when we have more information, but we should have some people get close to the prisoners in order to release and protect them before the fighting starts. We don't want the soldiers to start killing them or using them as hostages.

  "Good point. I also have a fog spell that may help to extract the captured villagers when the time comes. Alright, if there is nothing else then let's move out." With nothing else to say I turn to the tree line and start jogging. Grondar calls out orders to the formation, and they follow behind in two columns.

  *******

  A few hours later we are getting close to the rear scouts and I signal to slow down. When Grondar comes up next to me I say "We are getting close now and it is only an hour or two before dark. I want to slow down to the same speed as them so we can rest up before they stop." He nods at that and quietly passes orders to the person behind him who passes them back in turn. Soon the whole procession is quietly marching at a leisurely pace. Making sure to tell her to stay unnoticed, I instruct Thia to search out the positions of any enemy scouts. While we are walking I have Thia update me on what she has seen during our trip. The Human soldiers are ignoring the captured villagers for the most part. They are making them stay quiet and guarding them, but so far they seem intent on escaping with their captives. Thia has identified the one in charge of the soldiers as others have called him Captain and defer to him. I relay all this information to Grondar as well as the fact that the captain looks to be a swordsman of some type.

  A few minutes later Thia has found all the nearest scouts and she observes one of the them that was ahead of the group approach the Captain. There is some gesturing as the scout looks to be describing something to the Captain. Nothing happens for about 20 minutes until the human soldiers turn right to head east off the road. When Thia sees this she flies ahead to observe the area they will be setting up in. It doesn't take long and I am describing the terrain to Grondar as we move. When they do start setting up it's at the bottom of a small hill that blocks line of sight from the old road and from the more distant village to some extent. Grondar had already figured out that would be the place that they stage at from my description. He looks to me and says "This will be good for us. Our archers can set up on the hill and provide support. We need the position of all the scouts though. Otherwise our surprise will be lost."

  From there I get Thia to do another round of the scouts to see how they have set up. "There are three archers or rangers that are set up on the hill . There's another at the bottom on each side of it. They are all up in trees and alert. Do we have anyone that is a rogue or has some type of stealth?"

  "There are two that have the skills to sneak up on scouts and they will take care of them." Grondar then calls over two wood elves that look like brothers. They are both wearing the same green colored leather armor and armed with daggers on both hips.

  Before I start talking to them about scout placement Azzaria speaks up. "I just picked up the camouflage skill last time we were at Bolden's shop. I also have the silence shot skill that can help when we secure the villagers." I open my mouth to tell her that she should stay on the hill but realize that she is better suited to stealth than I am. Closing my mouth I nod to her and explain the enemy scout placements to the two rogues. All that I know except for the one that is up on the hill a little to the right. That one is closest to where they have parked the wagons with the caged villagers in them.

  "Grondar. We need to make sure that we get all of the soldiers here. We can't afford to have them chasing us back to Efftin. There is no way that the villagers would be able to outrun the soldiers. We should send a few of your people to the other side to take out anyone that tries to flee. They can take out the scouts that are over there when we start the fighting." He waves over someone and a group of five comes over. I tell them where Thia showed me the scouts for the side they will be sent to. "Azzaria, Derl and I will take the scout on the hill near the wagons and the two rogues can meet up with us there when they are done. The five of us will get to the wagons and open the cages. We will protect the villagers and send them to the hill. Everyone else will be providing a distraction by attacking. Timbre will be nearby watching our backs. "

  "What will the signal be to attack?" Grondar asks me. "Also, I tried to invite you to our raid group but I think you are already in one."

  I look up to my interface and see that I'm still in a group with Azzaria. I never saw a reason to change it since we are always together. Mentally I think 'drop group' and Azzaria's status disappears from the corner of my vision. "Try it now. A moment later I get a message to join Grondar's group. I accept it and a grid with the names of people in the raid appears on the side of my vision. It's pretty big but fades out unless I focus on seeing it. Grondar's name appears under mine like a normal party with Derl under him. A moment later Azzaria appears under Derl.

  Grondar speaks up with a pleased tone. "I have you two in my group so I can see if anything goes badly when you are gone."

  "Good. Make sure that your men know that they are not to take any unnecessary risks. They are to use potions if needed and to withdraw if they are seriously injured. Azzaria and I both have healing magic so we can help out any who make it to us. As to your previous question, you will know when it's time to start. Probably going to be a lot of screaming." I tell him with a little wink at the end. With that I wave Azzaria and Derl to follow me and leave Grondar to his men. "Timbre, when we head down there I want you to hang back. Find a spot near the wagons that you can watch from. As soon as you hear or see the attack start come to me and we will form up in front of the villagers as they retreat. Any questions?" I ask the last part and look between every one.

  Derl opens his mouth before hesitating a moment then continues to ask "Why do we need the rogues?"

  "Well, Derl, I do not know how to pick a lock and neither does Azzaria to my knowledge. Do you know how to or at least a quiet way to open the cages?"

  "Ah, good point. They are stealthy too. They should give us time without being discovered." He has a look on his face like he finally gets it.

  From Thia I get a report of how the setup is going and we don't have time to wait around. "Lets go. Quietly from here on. Azzaria, when we get close I will stop us and point out where the archer is. I want you to sneak up on him and hit him with your silent shot so that he can't cry out a warning. I will keep my spells to the less flashy ones so that we don't alert anyone. Derl, you close with him as fast as possible and try to end it before it goes on too long." With that I start to lead my group through the forest up the hill. The scout is in a tree at the crest of the hill so I stop well short of it. "He is in a tree about 100 feet in front of us on the top of the hill" I whisper to Azzaria and point it out for her. With a nod she turns and heads off to the side to circle around a little.

  As she goes she starts to fade out like she is becoming the same color as what is behind her. It is very effective if not actual invisibility. A few minutes pass as we wait for her to close the distance. Then I see something that is brown and green fall out of a tree in the direction of the scout. It hits the ground with a barely heard thump, and the three of us are sprinting to finish the fight as soon as possible. Timbre is the fastest with Derl not far behind. I am last but get in range first and cast an Earth Spike since the range has increased with my power increases. The enemy scout rolls to the side when he sees us, causing my spell to strike him in the shoulder. I follow up with a wind slash to cut his leg on the other side. It works and he is off balance when Timbre pounces, knocking him back down again. He tries to push Timbre off as she worries away at his arm wit
h her jaw. Probably would have succeeded since he is a higher level but Derl is there a moment later to skewer him through the eye. The fight is over in that instant. I walk up to the body as Azzaria drops her skill and becomes visible walking up from the right.

  Not knowing how long we have, I loot him and place all his gear as well as the small amount of coin he has in storage. I roll him to the side up against a tree before standing and waiting for the rogues. What seems like an hour but is probably just five to ten minutes passes until Grondar creeps up to our position with the two rogues. Looking to the sides I can see other groups taking up positions. "You can start your way down" he tells me. "By the time you get near the wagons the group I sent to the other side will be in place."

  It was getting dark as we descended the hill, helping to keep our movements concealed from those in the camp. Behind the last few trees at the bottom of the hill I link with Thia briefly to get a look at the camp and the placement of their forces. Through her eyes I can see that they are starting to set up small cook fires. Many are still occupied with setting up the last tents and preparing an evening meal. No one is close to the wagons at first, but then a soldier that is sipping from a flask and stumbling a little heads that way. I raise my fist in the signal we agreed to earlier for hold. Watching the man stumble over to the wagons I get a bad feeling and I know he is up to something when he heads behind the wagon in the back. If he doesn't want his fellow soldiers to see then it's definitely nothing I want to happen. This could be a good opportunity though. I give everyone a signal to move forward slowly. We can see the soldier now since he is on the side we are. He is talking to the prisoners and gesturing at the women in the cage. Facing away from us and not paying attention as he speaks allows us to get close enough to hear what he says.