The Hedge Wizard

Stone and dust fell like rain, and then it was all falling—an avalanche of earthen might.

Around Hump, some of the others screamed and cried out. Others ducked, hiding under their arms or shields, instinct compelling them to do anything they could to protect themselves. Others of his party were already reacting. Dozens of vines sprouted around Dylan, reaching to stop the falling stone. Bud raised his hand, his Aegis of Sanctuary starting to form a shield of ice.

But Hump was faster.

Essence exploded from his staff, rich with blue—now was far from the time to care about efficiency. It took only a thought for his Shield to form, layers of interweaving essence channels spreading out to envelop the entirety of the company, making it just in time to catch the collapsing roof.

Weight descended on the Shield. Hump gritted his teeth, throwing more essence into it. His body strained against the sheer mass of what he was holding back, but he enhanced himself with what essence he could. That, and his dragon blooded strength would have to be enough. As he threw more essence outward, forcing the falling stone to stay back, willing his Shield to last until the earth whispered back. He heard the ancient power calling to him, filled with the intent of time and weight and ages past.

Hump whispered back, urging it to abide by his will. To fall to the wayside and let them go unhindered.

A change came over his Shield before he realised what he was doing. The blue essence turned to bronze, doming them in. The channels started to rotate, spiralling around them. They grew faster, picking up stone and dust, the world beyond becoming a wash of light.

The soldiers came out from behind their arms and shields, staring at Hump’s unfolding power. Nishari’s eyes were wide and flicking everywhere, pure excitement rushing through her as she saw all the rocks as things to chase.

“Gods above,” one said.

Others murmured in wonderment as dust and dirt and rock were swept up by the storm of power, a tornado of stone with Hump at its centre. He raised his left hand, clenching his fingers as if clutching it between his hand and staff, then he heaved it aside, directing all the stone to gather in the hollowed out section of the grotto where the fellspawn had been digging.

The rumbling had stopped now. As the dust cleared, Hump looked up to see an angry crack in the roof, but it seemed the collapse was over. Hump looked over at the imp that had attacked. It lay dead at the tunnel entrance, caught by its own trap. The fellspawn corpse was closer, barely more than a patch of blood and meat on the ground.

A cheer ran through the company and Hump let himself relax, releasing his spell and withdrawing his essence. Soldiers clapped Hump on the back, thanking him. Dylan let his vines rescind, a smile on his face.

Hump felt the familiar shake of his spellbook at his hip. It seemed that becoming a Wielder of the Winds was already working out. He was long overdue a shield spell that used earth essence, maybe this was finally it.

“What the bloody hell kind of wizard is this?” Joric said. “Ain’t never seen magic that strong. I thought you were just some hedge wizard.”

“He is,” Bud said, his own blessing fading. “That was nicely done. Thanks Hump.”

“All in a day’s work,” Hump said, grinning.

“We’ll need to be more cautious about such traps again,” Bud said. “It’s easy to forget how skilled imps can be with illusion magic.”

“I should have seen it,” Celaine said. “It’s my job to see these things.”

“No,” Emilia said. “Imps have powerful magic. This is hardly the first time we’ve been caught off guard by it.”

Celaine didn’t seem to listen. “It’s my job not to be. I’ve seen it once. They won’t get past me again.”

With the first major chamber cleared, they followed the tunnels downward, entering a maze of tunnels and chambers that reminded Hump of an ant hill. Hump took the moment to check the new spell revealed by his spellbook.

SPELLBOOK

Ward of Earth

Warding | Battle Magic | Tier 3 | Range: Short

Description

Harness the essence of earth and draw upon it to create an orbiting barrage of boulders, stone, and dirt to ward off any that would approach, obliterating all that get too close.

That was even better than he’d expected. He had a similar spell after combining fire essence with his Shield spell, but it was a tier lower than this and not as powerful. It seemed likely that he’d jumped a step. He’d need to experiment to figure out the Tier 2 version of the spell too. He showed it to Celaine, who nodded with interest and gave him a shrug—so a Tier 3 spell wasn’t enough to keep her attention anymore. He supposed there were more important things to do right now.

As they wandered deeper, they faced similar encounters with fellspawn, though it seemed the demons had given up on trying to hit them with traps. At this point, Hump was certain of two things: the demons were definitely using this dungeon node to farm food, and a battle in the core room was all but a certainty.

This was hardly his first dungeon, but still he couldn’t help but feel a little underprepared. Still, with a company of over thirty people, there shouldn’t be much that could cause much danger to them.

The demons left their slaves to die. Bud split the company up in three to try and speed up the process. It was unpleasant work. Hump had no problems killing demons, but the fellspawn so clearly lacked freedom and intelligence it just didn’t seem right. The job needed doing though. All it took was a sniff of human blood for the slave demons to be driven into a frenzied attack. Such creatures couldn’t be left alive.

Throughout the labyrinth, they found a number of empty chambers that were still being hollowed out, while others were only just starting to become populated with mushrooms.

“Command will be very interested in this place,” Emilia said. “This level of organisation is a first for us. I wonder if the demons rely on dungeon nodes like this for the majority of their food supply.”

“If they did, that means there must be a convenient connection between here and the Infernal Halls,” Hump said. “While this dungeon may be weak, I suggest we proceed with caution in case they’ve called for reinforcements. It’s clear a lot of time went into the making of this place.”

“It’s good to have you with us,” Henrietta said. “Two silver ranked adventurers make a world of difference.”

Hump looked at the knight, momentarily caught off guard. That’s right. We’re silver ranked now. We’re the people they call for help with a dungeon like this.

“Not just any silver rankers,” Kat said, admiration in her voice. She was a former squire of the Blackthornes, but after the Battle of Sheercliff she’d become a fully-fledged Sorcerer of Kelisia. “This is the White Flame Wizard. You should have seen him in Sheercliff.”

The soldiers nearby made a few more comments of confidence.

Hump swallowed, suddenly feeling pressure. At the same time, he stood a little straighter.

“Glad to be here,” Hump said. “Nothing gets the blood going quite like a dungeon, eh?”

Stupid, Hump cursed himself as soon as he finished the line. What was he supposed to say to that? Well, anything but something so painfully awkward, yet the smiles on the faces of the soldiers and obvious boost to morale belied his internal cringing.

Dylan clapped him on the shoulder, moving the conversation back to the tunnels and saving Hump from his own big mouth.

They entered a chamber piled high with essence stones. Mycelium coated the stone, the white tendrils gleaming with essence as they leached power from them. Toward the walls of the cave, small, finger-sized mushrooms coated the stones, swaying gently with the pulsing essence running through them like grass.

More fellspawn were at work here, chipping away at the walls with pickaxes. Small essence stones gleamed in the rocks, most of them the pale blue of pure essence, but a few earth and water affinity stones were mixed in there too. The fellspawn here were bigger than the harvester slaves, with bulky shoulders and muscled arms like the one that had carried the explosive barrel above.

Bud handled the engagement methodically. With so many Chosen, it took little more than minor blessings and some swordplay to defeat them. Hump didn’t lift a finger and they still proved no challenge to Bud’s company. Quickly, they were moving onward, following the echo of pickaxes in the labyrinth. They encountered more chambers like the one before, each with more essence stones and fellspawn, all abandoned to death.

Hump lost count of how many they must have slain. It had to be in the hundreds. Eventually, the downward tunnel levelled out.

“We’re getting close now,” Dylan said. “I can sense the owner of the intent in the mycelium at this depth now. I think we’re almost there.”

“Same as before,” Bud said. “Celaine, take the lead and keep an eye out for traps or ambushes. The rest of my party will be right behind her, ready to engage with the enemy. Henrietta, you lead the company. Use us as the battering ram and then follow us in to provide support. Prioritise the safety of our men before us.”

“You don’t need to worry about us, sir,” one of the soldiers said. “We’re all with you.”

Agreement spread throughout the company and Bud appeared touched.

A smile spread on his face. “My thanks, but those are my orders. If there’s anything in there that can threaten my party members and me, the best thing you can do is take care of yourselves so that we can focus on fighting. Understood?”

“Of course, sir. Whatever your orders, we are here to obey.”

“Then ready yourselves,” Bud said. “There’s going to be traps.”

“How do you want to proceed?” Emilia asked.

Bud grinned. “We spring the trap.”

“Nishari, stay here,” Hump said, emphasising the words with his will. She slumped, once again making him feel guilty, but she was a few too many years away from taking on a core chamber full of demons.

The dark tunnel soon expanded into a chamber, speckled with mushrooms. At the far end, was another chamber entrance. To reach it, they would need to climb a staircase of orange shelf fungus, with large, flat surfaces. They had a hard, woody texture.

They followed the path up, entering the larger chamber on the other side, where they found a mushroom grotto lit with luminescence. If not for the location, Hump would have thought it beautiful, but on closer inspection everything started to seem twisted. Just as it had been in the dungeon grove in Bledsbury, it was as if the dungeon created a twisted imitation of reality.

Hump spotted no enemies in their immediate vicinity. They continued forward, Celaine in the lead, Bud and Dylan just behind, while the company waited at the entrance. Everyone had their weapons ready. There were no pleasantries now, every shred of focus was on the task at hand.

From the presence Hump felt here, this had to be the dungeon node. It was thick with chaotic essence, almost viscous against his skin. But all he saw were mushrooms. If this were the core chamber, where were the monsters?

“There’s a spell over the end of the tunnel,” Celaine said.

Hump directed essence to his left eye, drawing upon the power he’d gained when he’d become dragon blooded—Spirit Sight. Before him, the illusion vanished, replaced by a thick layer of essence that obscured everything beyond the tunnel.

“I can see a spell,” Hump said. “It seems to be some sort of illusion or camouflage spell, and judging by the density of essence, quite a powerful one at that.”

“Can you break it?” Emilia asked. “I don’t like the idea of us rushing through blind.”

“I can break it.”

“You have an idea?” Bud asked.

Hump nodded. “Demons rely on magic, don’t they? Especially imps. If that’s the case, I have the perfect idea. I just need a couple of minutes to prepare.”

He opened the Book of Infinite Pages to the desired spell.

Titan’s Wrath

Evocation | Battle Magic | Tier 4 | Range: Long

Description

Conjures an obsidian spike charged with the intent of the caster, launching at incredible speed towards the target. Essence in the area surrounding the projectile is disrupted by the caster’s intent. The effect is increased against those struck directly.

Using his staff and Control Earth, Hump carved out a spell formation in the ground while the others stood guard. It only took a couple of minutes. With it finished, he had all he needed to bring whatever magics the imps had ready for them shattering down.

Placing the butt of his staff against the base of his spell formation, he called upon his essence, releasing it into the runes. They came alight with his power, the intent stored within them granting his essence direction. Power built. The formation shone brighter, illuminating the tunnel. When the spell was ready, he called upon its strength, essence surging back through him and into his staff. The focus boiled with vibrant bronze essence, swirling within like liquid gold.

Hump levelled his staff toward the chamber, holding it in both hands and aiming from the hip. A sphere of bronze kindled before him, growing larger and brighter with each moment. Tendrils of bronze lashed at the ground and walls like lightning, tearing up stone where they struck. It filled the air before him, suspended and floating, drawn to the presence of dense earth essence.

At the centre of the sphere of bronze, a black shape took form, expanding as it drew in all the power and intent Hump fed it. Distantly, he heard the cries of demons starting to panic and shouted orders. Fireballs poured in from beyond the camouflage spell, but Bud stepped before Hump and raised his Aegis of Sanctuary, a manifested shield of ice appearing before him and blocking the attacks. The attack slammed into it, exploding in blazes of fire. Hissing filled the tunnel as ice turned to steam.

“I can’t hold this for long,” Bud said.

“I don’t need long.” Hump’s voice resonated, echoing through the tunnel.

The black shape gripped within Hump’s essence became sharp. It formed a spike as large as a fence post, the obsidian crystal filled with spell breaking intent.

“It’s ready,” Hump said.

Bud removed his blessing, the rest of the ice shield turning to steam and essence, fading away into a blue mist.

“Titan’s Wraith,” Hump barked, letting all the power of his spell explode through him.

The spike exploded forward on a stream of bronze essence. All around Hump, the suspended stones in the air burst forward too, scattering through the tunnel. The camouflage spell shattered the instant his spike connected, revealing a host of perhaps fifty monsters within—imps, hellhounds, bloodhorrors, and far too many creatures Hump didn’t recognise.

Then Titan’s Wrath struck the chamber ten paces beyond the tunnel entrance, right amongst a cluster of bloodhorrors. An explosion of dust and bronze essence obscured everything beyond. Agonised screams filled the room. Pulse after pulse of radiating intent spread in a disruptive field, like ripples through the earth.

The bloodhorrors backed away, seemingly unsure. Imps fled even farther, fleeing into the mushroom forest for shelter. There were fellspawn everywhere, standing around in confusion at the sudden explosion.

At the centre of the chamber there was a funnel-shaped fungus taller than a horse. It was blood red, with veins of essence pulsing up its side, thick with sickly brown and green essence. Where the funnel sloped inward, a crystal shone with red light—that had to be the developing node. A mountain of corpses was piled beneath it. Thick, red mycelium tendrils coated them, pulsing as they fed. Spread out around it were the dried husks of what remained once it was done with them.

“There we go,” Hump said. “Looks like we found ourselves some demons.”

“And the node,” Dylan said.

Celaine peered ahead, leaning to try and get a better view. “There’s something strong in here. Something that makes my skin crawl.” She had her bow in hand, an arrow ready on the string.

“We’ll advance now while they’re disorganised,” Bud said, then called behind him. “Henrietta, advance the company!”

Then they were striding forward. Hump’s Titan’s Wrath continued to pulse with essence. A couple of bloodhorrors grabbed at it, trying to remove it from the ground but it was lodged in deep.

Dylan’s Aspect of the Bear pulsed overhead as he led the charge. His quarterstaff grew in his hands until it was as thick as his arms. Emilia flourished her rapier, red essence shimmering beneath her skin.

The demons seemed to be in full retreat now. Imps cried. Hellhounds lurked amongst the mushrooms, smouldering eyes watching as they snarled but didn’t advance.

Essence surged. Hump readied a Shield only to realise they weren’t the target. A whip of purple thorns flicked out, grabbing an imp around the waist and hurling it into the centre of the chamber, slamming it to the ground in a mess of blood. It screamed as the whip constricted, winding its way around the imp’s torso, thorns piercing its flesh until it died.

“By the pacts that bind you, form ranks!” came an enraged voice. “No retreat. Death to all that flee! Bring the juggernaut!”

Imps tried to summon their spells, but Hump’s Titan’s Wrath was in effect, and these creatures were too weak to surpass his intent.

At the same time, a creature surged through from amongst the large mushrooms at the back. It was a nine-legged creature, with grey skin. It snapped and snarled, attacking one of the fellspawn nearby and clamping its jaws shut upon it. The fellspawn screamed and writhed in its jaws as it died, then was feasted upon. Behind it, a dozen of the bulky fellspawn approached with chains, holding it in place. They were clearly terrified as the creature finished its snack.

“Release!” the voice screeched. “Attack! Attack!”

As the chains dropped to the floor with a ring of metal, the hulking beast lurched forward.

“Juggernaut!” Bud roared, alerting the rest of the company behind them.

Hump and the others came to a stop at the entrance to the chamber.

“How do we deal with this?” Hump asked.

Dylan smiled. “I’m on it. You lot wait here. You wanted to see my major blessing, Hump. Allow me to demonstrate.”