Menacing Misfits: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (Darkthorn Academy Book 1)

by Robyn Wideman

  “Yes, gooey?” Instructor Brazee said.

  Oh, please don’t let that become my nickname, Jack thought as he asked his question, “What if I have to leave the triangle?”

  “No formation can’t be broken—when the situation requires it, you do it. But then you decide if you are reforming that formation again or going to something else. Battles are fluid, there are no hard and fast rules that hold up to every encounter. That said, you will find staying in formation as much as possible will be your most efficient fighting style.”

  Instructor Brazee turned to Stannerios. “The tip of the triangle is your melee fighter, Stannerios’s job is close-up fighting, being the main target of the most dangerous enemies. He’s also the one who’s going to absorb the most damage. Part of Jack’s job is making sure Stannerios doesn’t take too much damage. The tip of the triangle is not for the faint of heart. It is a dirty job, but an honorable one.”

  Stann lifted his chin and smiled. There was no doubt that he was looking forward to this role.

  “The other two corners of this triangle are Talia and Lana. Lana is one of the finest archery students I’ve ever had. Talia, I’m told by several professors, excels at using fireballs, among other magic attacks. That makes them a perfect complement to each other for ranged attacks, one using precise physical damage, the other powerful magic damage. The role of the two corner members is to protect the flanks and back of your tip and center. When the opportunity presents itself, you assist Stannerios, but your primary duty is knocking down enemies that Stannerios can’t see. Depending on the terrain, that may be easy. A narrow hallway means only having to protect the rear, an open battlefield where you can be surrounded means you have to do a lot more.”

  Talia raised her hand. “Who directs our movement? The leader or the tip?”

  “Both,” Instructor Brazee said. “Your leader tells you where to go, but the tip is the one who gets you there. It is his job to pick the best route, he needs to be thinking of making your jobs easier while getting you to your destination. But Jack, or rather Jack’s magical capabilities, will tell you how close you have to be to each other. Once Jack learns some of the basic group healing spells, if he hasn’t already, he is going to have a limited casting range. You and Lana have to keep within that range. So Jack follows Stannerios, you move with them. Your formation should stay within the range of Jack’s casting abilities as much as possible. When that isn’t possible, and you need a bigger triangle, it becomes Jack’s job to move around within that formation to make sure his spells are getting to you.”

  Jack didn’t have a lot of military training, but he could see the value of this formation. He also realized even though he might be the gooey middle he would have a lot of responsibility. All of them needed to know their roles and work together as one unit. If one part failed, they all failed. “When do I attack?”

  “When your healing duties are done. Healer first, warrior second. The best scenario is you use a ranged attack. If your healer is fighting with a sword, you are all in a precarious situation.”

  Jack touched his sword. The ice spell used little mana and was a good ranged attack. For now, it would have to become his main attack weapon.

  “Now that you all know the basic concepts, let’s practice moving together. I will be the target. As I move, you all follow. For now, we’ll pretend Jack has a casting radius of ten feet. That is how close you have to stay together. Let’s begin.”

  They spent the next two hours moving in formation, it was awkward, staying that tight together while changing directions. And Instructor Brazee threw little tests at them, creating scenarios for them to adjust to, but by the end of the two hours they were moving more like a unit instead of four individuals.

  They sat down on the ground as Instructor Brazee finished his lesson. “The key to this formation is teamwork, and that is going to require communication and trust. If Lana is watching her flank, she can’t see what Talia sees. Jack, you will have the best overall view of the battle zone and can direct your defense, but each member needs to communicate when they are clear or are in trouble. Working as a small unit like this can be highly effective, but there are going to be times when you face overwhelming odds, those are the times when communication and trust will pull your fat out of the fire. Trust each other, trust yourselves.”

  After thanking Instructor Brazee, they started walking back towards the apartment. Stann took the lead, and Jack fell in line behind him. It felt weird walking behind his friend instead of beside him, but Jack knew from experience, the best way to form new habits was repetition. He looked behind him and saw the girls doing the same. He smiled and turned back to following Stann. They were walking as a team. It was a little thing, but it meant they were all on the same page.

  When they got back to the quester lobby, they found Colin and Lord Scratches at one of the dining room tables.

  “You eating without us?” Stann asked.

  “No. I actually asked Lord Scratches to keep an eye on you and tell me when you were coming back. It actually worked.”

  Jack rubbed Lord’s head. “That’s because he’s a smart dragon. Isn’t that right, Lord?”

  The small dragon nodded.

  Talia laughed. “I didn’t realize how smart he really is. He must be getting better at understanding us.”

  “That or he understood the whole time but finally decided we were worthy of a response,” Colin said.

  “I think Talia is right,” Jack said. “The more I talk to him the more he seems to understand. I don’t think he ever cared about humans enough to bother learning our speech before.”

  “Either way, it is going to be handy having him,” Colin said. “You can train him to be a great scout.”

  Jack nodded. This was true. In the air, Lord Scratches would see far more than they could. He could help them find things, warn them of dangers. All it would take is practice and Jack learning how to communicate more with his familiar.

  “How did training go?” Colin asked.

  “Really good,” Stann said. “I’m the tip.”

  Talia grinned. “Yes, you are.”

  “And Jack is gooey,” Lana said with a laugh. Stann and Talia soon joined her.

  Colin looked at Jack, who just shrugged.

  “I means I’m the center of the formation and these hard-asses have to protect me so I can protect them.”

  “Ah, I see,” Colin said. “A triangle formation.”

  “Exactly,” Jack said.

  Colin nodded. “You know, that is really smart, but you need to fix one thing.”

  “What’s that?” Stann asked.

  “You,” Colin said.

  Stann frowned. “You don’t think I’m a good tip?”

  “I think you’ll be a great tip of the spear, or lead edge of the triangle, as it is properly called. What I mean is you have no ranged attack. You should have a ranged attack. That would make the triangle more effective in the open fights. Hit your enemies before they get that close.”

  Colin had a point. Jack wasn’t sure how good his group healing range would be. But for Talia and Lana to be at their most effective a degree of distance was required. If Stann had a ranged attack, they could stay tight, and further back against enemies, reducing their risks. “Colin is right. It isn’t a bad idea.”

  “I’m not good with a normal bow,” Stann said.

  “But you are good at a ranged attack, aren’t you?” Talia said. “What did you train with back home? I know orc students are trained in all aspects of fighting.”

  Stann shrugged; it didn’t seem like he was too keen on the idea. “Yes. I am good with a spear, and I liked using a crossbow, but I am best with a hammer or sword, even a good sturdy axe.”

  “Crossbow is good,” Colin said. “Not as quick as a regular bow, but with your strength you can have a powerful attack, and we can always make magic bolts for extra damage. Same with your arrows, Lana.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Talia said. “
I’ll make you some deadly magic bolts, Stann.”

  Stann smiled. “You will?”

  “Of course.”

  Chef Ramsey came to the table. He had helpers behind him, their hands full of dishes. “Dinner is served.”

  Jack looked at his plate. It was heaping with beef and roast vegetables and smothered in a rich gravy. There was no way he was going to be able to eat it all, but once he took the first bite, he realized how hungry he’d been. It wasn’t long before the plate of delicious food was done.

  Finished, Jack got up.

  “Where you off to?” Lana asked.

  “Going to see Professor Cyr. This healer needs to learn how to group heal.”

  …

  Jack placed the two books Librarian Carr had given him on top of Professor Cyr’s desk.

  Professor Cyr looked at the books and smiled. “I’d almost forgotten about those; it seems so long ago that we worked on them. Did Martha give you those?”

  “Yes. She thought I’d find them useful. She also said she waited until now because of you.”

  “Not me alone. There were several of us that knew your mother involved in the decision. We decided that you deserved the opportunity to make your own decisions and not have us pushing you to be like your mother. It was obvious that Ramy felt the same way and wasn’t very forthcoming about what your mother did. He didn’t want you idolizing her for being a Great Warrior.”

  Jack nodded. “Ramy was conflicted, I think… He didn’t tell me much about Darkthorn or my mother, he wanted to protect me. But in the end, he made me promise to come here. I think he was worried about me becoming an untrained mage.”

  “Yes, I suspected as much. Which is fine, I don’t blame Ramy for how things turned out. He was your only parental figure for many years, he did the best he could. Life was always going to be rough for you in Westdrift. Being a half-breed lowborn presents challenges most will never know. And now that you’ve gotten to Darkthorn, you’ve come a long way. Yet you’ve been thrust into a troubling situation, one I’d hoped you would have far more time to grow into.”

  “It’s OK, Professor Cyr. I’m not angry or frustrated about becoming a healer. It is logical. It is the role that I have the most potential to fill, and I still had the choice of leaving after the midterms. Nobody forced me to be a healer. But now that I am going to be one, I need to learn as fast as possible.”

  Professor Cyr looked relieved. Jack wondered if she somehow felt responsible for him being a quester. It was obviously Cara and Isaac who’d used magic to trick them into failing the Ethics test, and it was Jack’s decision to stay, even though questing was dangerous.

  “Good to know,” Professor Cyr said. “Now let’s get started. One of the biggest roles of a healer in battle is keeping his or her companions healthy. You understand this?”

  Jack nodded. “Instructor Brazee gave us a team lesson this afternoon. We learned the triangle formation. I’m to stay in the middle and my main role is healing.”

  “Yes, that is the simple version. You won’t find much about the triangle in my book or your mother’s. Our team was always a five- or six-member squad, but it is an effective formation and you will do well with it. The basic spells that you will build your combat style around are direct, single-person healing, and group healing. When one person takes significant damage, your group healing won’t be enough for them, you’ll have to focus your energy on that person until their health is back to a point where you can move to the next person. Group healing is most effective when everyone is nearly one hundred percent healthy. In your mother’s book you’ll find a spell that shows you how healthy each person in your party is. In general, your healing spells will keep people healthy and repair injured tissue. As you know, magic does have limits. If a limb is severed, you can use magic to fix it, but you have to have the limb and enough mana to do the healing. If a toe is eaten, you can’t magically create a new toe. If your head is chopped off, you can’t fix that either. Understand?”

  Jack nodded.

  “Good. Now in the past, you’ve learned to heal by touching, letting your magic flow into the person from your hand into their body. The next progression of that spell is healing at a distance. It works the same way. You visualize your target, but instead of the wound you just target the person, let the magic and their body figure out what actually needs to be done. You just supply the magic. You can do that with your hand, or any magical conduit like your sword. I suggest practicing using one hand for healing spells, and one hand for your sword. You can switch spells back and forth, but getting used to using dual casting is critical. Your mother would switch from healing to an energy shield in a heartbeat, all the while firing magic at her enemies. You will need to practice as often as possible, even if it is just creating a small energy shield while you walk, and firing ice bolts with your sword. Now, before things get too complicated, let’s do something simple. I want you to heal me.”

  Professor Cyr took a small knife and cut herself on the arm. “Heal me.”

  Jack put out his hand and imagined his energy leaving his hand and flowing into her wound.

  “Heal me, not the wound. Just aim at my torso.”

  Jack moved his hand so he was aiming at her torso. It felt strange not targeting the wound, but he had to trust her.

  The wound started to close.

  “Well done, Jack. Your mana has increased. You’re improving as a caster.”

  “Thank you. But why not target the wound?”

  “Because in the heat of battle you won’t have time to be that focused. It is easier to hit a big target than a specific one. If there is no battle going on, then sure, focus directly on the wound. Battleground healing isn’t the same as healing in general. You’re doing what you can, when you can. The ability to heal fast and then move to the next person is important. That is why you rely on the magic to do the work. Just smack them with magic and move on.”

  “OK.”

  “Good. Now this next spell is the group healing spell. This, and any other group spells you do, is all about you releasing your magic all around you. All that energy that you were focusing into your hand now needs to leave your entire body and radiate outwards. Imagine you are a candle and your magic is the light it gives off. Try healing me again, but without focusing your energy. You are the candle.”

  Jack frowned. He always channeled his energy through his hand. He tried to imagine himself as a candle with magical light emitting from his body. He could feel the energy; it was working.

  “Good. I can feel your energy. Now step back.”

  Jack took a step back away from her desk.

  “Another step.”

  He took another step back.

  “Once more.”

  He repeated the process, he was now only a step away from the wall.

  “There. That is the limit of your group casting range now.”

  Jack looked at Professor Cyr. She was about six feet from him. “That’s it?”

  “That isn’t bad, most healers have only a few feet to start. You’ve started to expand your ability to use your spirit magic. With time, you’ll quickly expand the range. The trick is, you don’t want to use a lot of extra mana to extend your range. Take another two steps back.”

  Jack moved until his back was against the wall.

  “Far enough. Now focus on your mana. Try pushing it out farther. Imagine your candle being brighter.”

  Jack did as she asked. Slowly increasing the amount of energy he was emitting.

  “There. Now I can feel you. That is excellent range, but to keep that up you’d use far more mana than you currently have available. You want to use as little mana as possible to achieve the desired results. Overcharging a spell to increase the distance isn’t always an option. There are times when you’ll do it out of necessity, but practice expanding your range without increasing the mana used. I suggest, while you are walking out in the Ancient Lands, practicing casting other passive magic spells like endurance and
mana regeneration. Those are spells you can use to improve your team without killing your mana reserves. Your mother’s spell book will give you examples of what spells to learn. One of the first spells to use is the one that tells you your team’s health and mana. It will also tell you yours, and allow you to gauge how much mana you are using. It will be your most important spell. Sometimes you’ll encounter magic users in the Ancient Lands who use magical attacks that drain health and mana without you knowing it. Using that spell will keep you aware.”

  “Any other spells I need to know?”

  Professor Cyr smiled. “Many, but start with those. Use your mother’s book as your guide. She and Martha did a good job laying it out in a logical progression. The easiest and the highest priority spells are at the beginning. Learn those first. Work your way through her book and you’ll be a warrior healer in time.”

  After his lesson with Professor Cyr was done, Jack headed back to the apartment. Talia was in the living room writing on the slate board.

  “How was your lesson?”

  “Good,” Jack said. “I was able to do the group healing spell. My range wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. I also learned about a spell my mother used to use to gauge the health and mana levels of the team. Want to learn it with me?”

  “Yes. That would be a great spell to know. I usually have a good idea of where my mana levels are, but until I’ve actually used it all I never know how much I have left. My magical energy levels are always increasing, but by so little I hardly notice it until I think I’m out but then find out I have more than I thought. It’s always a nice little bonus to find out I have more, but knowing how much mana I have would be better.”

  “I know what you mean,” Jack said. “I haven’t the foggiest idea how much mana I have, or if it is a good amount, and then you add in magical items…”

  They sat down at the table together and started going through Jack’s new spell book.

  “You got this at the library? I haven’t seen anything like this before,” Talia said.

  “It was my mother’s spell book. Martha… Librarian Carr, made her write it as a book.”