The Hedge Wizard

The artifact at the centre of the warlock formation flickered with crimson light, staining the cavern like blood. Above, stalactites lingered, spears carving long shadows over the roof.

The walkway was too exposed, so they retreated to the tunnel where the rest of the troops waited, hiding out of sight.

“Why is your first idea always to bring the roof down?” Celaine asked.

“Not much can survive a cave in,” Hump said defensively. “It’s worked before.”

“How sure are you that it will work here?” Bud asked.

“Fairly, but I need to get in close to make the formation.”

“How close?”

“Directly beneath the platform the warlocks are on. You saw those steps that led down to the small dock area? If I can get down there and create my formation, it’ll be close enough to bring the roof down on them.”

“I take it you have an idea on how to get there without the warlocks noticing you,” Emilia said. “I can’t imagine them being very cooperative.”

“Maybe.” Hump looked at Celaine. “What do you think? It was dark enough down there, wasn’t it?”

Celaine nodded. “I wouldn’t have any trouble getting down there on my own. With two of us, I’d need to raise more shadow though, so I’m not as sure.”

“It’s worth a try,” Hump said. “If it works, it will save us a direct confrontation. If it doesn’t, we’ll have the rest of you waiting in the tunnel. If things go badly, I’ll create a Shield around Celaine while you move in and reinforce us. We’ll just have to defeat them the old-fashioned way at that point.”

“Excuse me,” Inquisitor Hartlen said, “but how will you bring the roof down at all? That’s powerful magic. Not that I mean to question your skills, but I certainly couldn’t achieve such a feat. I don’t know many wizards that could.”

“Destruction is a bit of a specialty of mine,” Hump said. “I can do it.”

“Can you do it and get out?” Dylan asked. “Won’t do us much good if you bring the roof down on you and Celaine too.”

Hump opened his pouch, taking out one of the transmitter stones given to him by Higri before he and Celaine had left Drakalyn—the same kind he’d used to bring down the mountain tunnel, but at the time he’d had to made do by improvising with Rockslide. Cataclysmic Collapse specialised in the act. It should be simple.

The stones were a pale red, intricately carved with shimmering facets that enhanced the natural light within, and each facet marked with a small rune.

“These are two identical heartstones that have been connected by runes,” Hump explained. “To begin, I create a formation in a safe space in the tunnel, attaching the primary stone to it. Then I create a formation in the cavern and attach the second stone to that. I can use the primary stone to activate the second formation once I’m back in the tunnel.”

“Fascinating,” Dylan said. “You’ll need to tell me more about these later.”

“Any time you want when we’re not fighting for our lives,” Hump said. He looked over his companions and the nervous troops gathered in the tunnels. They were all veterans, but taking on this many warlocks was a dangerous feat, a little nervousness was natural. If this worked, Hump could save a lot of bloodshed. “So, are we in agreement?”

“It sounds like a good idea to me,” Emilia said.

“And leaves us with options,” Bud agreed. “It has my approval. Sir Darian, any comments?”

The man shook his head. “Your wizard seems to have the right idea. Let’s give him a chance to sort this out and save the rest of us getting involved, eh?”

“Brilliant,” Hump said, ignoring the man’s eagerness to let someone else step into danger. He’d volunteered for this after all.

There was good ground for the formation toward the rear of the tunnel, and well within the range that he’d used the transmitter stone before. Using his spellbook as a guide, he carved the inscriptions for Cataclysmic Collapse into the ground with the base of his staff and Transform Earth. For a Tier 5 spell like this, he wouldn’t trust anything to chalk. Each rune needed to be perfect and filled with the right intent, and he couldn’t risk scuffing it up upon returning from the cavern.

He took his time, careful not to make any mistakes. It didn’t take him much more than ten minutes, but he felt every moment. While he took his time here, the Red Fog encroached further on the fortress, but spell failure would only slow them down more. The final step was adding the transmitter stone to the base of the formation and incorporating it into the rest of the spell through various essence channels.

Once he was finished, he returned to the rest of the group, still keeping guard at the tunnel entrance.

“Ready?” Celaine asked.

Hump nodded. “Let’s do this.”

They stood side by side in the tunnel. Shadow rose around Celaine as she called upon Way of the Shadow Archer, manifesting an area where light couldn’t find its hold. In seconds, Hump could hardly see his own hands, but the rest of their force was still visible beyond the darkness. He almost jumped when he felt Celaine’s hand on the small of his back to guide him in the inky black.

“How is it?” Celaine asked the rest of their group.

“Like staring into a dark tunnel,” Emilia said. “I can’t see you, but I can tell something is off looking at the area directly. The darkness is too drastic. At a distance though, from a group not expecting anything, the warlocks will have a much harder time, I’m sure.”

“It’ll work,” Hump said. “You’ve snuck into more difficult locations than this, Celaine.”

“You just be ready with your shield,” she said. “Everyone in position?”

“You’re good to go,” Bud said.

There were no more words after that. Hump focused on putting one foot in front of the other as silently as possible. He didn’t dare to even activate the silencing enchantments he’d placed on his boots, out of fear the warlocks might sense them. Celaine continued to guide his steps, her own nervous breathing whispering in his ear. Descending the steps was the hard part. It was amazing how difficult such a simple action could be when trying to do it quietly. Fortunately, they were made of stone.

The dock, however, was another matter entirely. The wooden planks were old and rotten in places. Celaine led them along the left side, using the area of stone and earth next to the planks where they could, but a few creaks were unavoidable. Hump kept a Shield spell ready on his lips, his heart racing as he fought the urge to look up at the warlocks and focus only on his walking.

Eventually, they reached the far side of the dock and reached the base of the slope that curved up to the stone platform above. Here, Hump had an area of smooth surface to work on. He let out a breath, trying to calm himself. The chanting was louder here, the warlocks mere feet away. Fortunately, the red essence radiating from their formation was so thick it would obscure the warlocks’ vision.

Celaine directed her shadows above, creating a curtain that obscured them from sight while allowing Hump to see the ground. This was where the dangerous part began. In theory, the warlock spell should camouflage Hump’s own essence usage. Transform Earth was an efficient spell and didn’t give out much essence when used to draw runes, but it would take all his concentration and skill to ensure it went unnoticed. He had to wield the cantrip perfectly, maintaining exactly the right amount of essence flow so that residual essence didn’t leak out into the rest of the chamber.

Hump worked painstakingly slowly, guiding the butt of his staff across the smooth stone floor in both hands, forming channels and markings into its surface. Only the faintest flare of bronze light escaped, so small it was mostly hidden by his staff, though it didn’t escape him that one curious warlock was all it would take to uncover him. One moment of bad luck.

Those thoughts were lost as he dived into the process, his mind and will directed solely on the formation. With each rune, he felt the spell taking shape. With each channel, his intent reflected back at him—the desire to destroy, collapse, erupt. By the end of it, he hardly had to think at all. Essence guided his hand like a close friend, falling into place exactly as it needed to. Before he knew it, he was done. All that was left was to add the stone and be on their way.

Hump gave it one last cursory look and then nodded to Celaine. He waited as she gathered her shadows around them once more, then they were moving, crossing the dock and ascending the steps up to the walkway on the other side where the tunnel waited for them. They were just reaching the top when a shout came behind them.

“Intruders!”

“Shield!” Hump barked, not even turning around as he fully encompassed him and Celaine in a dome of essence just as a volley of spells erupted behind them. The cavern filled with a multitude of lights, essence heavy in the air as if there was a storm wind. The impact drove him forward and he slammed into the steps, taking the brunt of the impact on his chest and chin. He groaned, trying to push himself up, only for Celaine to drag him to his feet.

“Go!” she said. Her bow was in hand, an arrow already on the string.

Together, they backed up the steps as more spells rained down upon them. Hump weaved his essence over his barrier, forming a web of channels to reinforce it and spread the impact. Above, Bud and the others burst from the tunnel, their own blessings surging, filling the air with power and light. While only a few of their force with them were Chosen, the others were mostly practitioners or wizards, and far more skilled than the average soldier. They spread out around them, archers and wizards retaliating with their own barrage against the warlocks.

Bud used Aegis of Protection to form a shield of ice, providing Hump some cover so that he no longer received the full brunt of the warlock arsenal. Dylan’s Nature’s Spring filled him with warmth, the pain in his chest and chin rescinding. To the right, Emilia stood atop the walkway, her rapier a whirlwind of motion as she carved aside warlock projectiles as if striking balls with a bat, exploding them in a spectacular shower of essence.

Hump reached the top of the stairs and turned as monsters dragged themselves out of the pool of water to the right, climbing onto the dock with webbed hands and feet, appearing like fish that had sprouted limbs, each as tall as a child. Their bodies were covered in green scales, their eyes red with the power of the fog, their teeth sharp. Sharp fins protruded from their head like horns. Gills flared wide along their necks.

Taking aim, Hump sent two stones flying with Rockshot blowing apart two of the creatures and sending them back to the water.

“Is it done?” Bud asked.

“The spell’s in place.”

“Then go. We’ll hold them here.”

“Do not advance,” Hump said. “Hold this position and once the crumbling begins, fall back to the tunnel. I don’t know how big this will be.”

He nodded. “Understood. Now hurry!”

Hump squeezed through the gathering of troops, barged past Sir Darian toward the back of the formation, then raced for his formation. He reached it and placed his staff against the base, calling upon his essence. It erupted from his chest, surging through his body and into his staff. The runes came alight with power until all shone with bronze, filling the tunnel with its light. Hump focused on the transmitter stone, envisioning the spell formation on the other end.

In his mind’s eye, he saw the roof collapsing directly over the warlocks atop their platform, sparing the rest of the cavern. It began as a deep, thundering crack, spreading up through the earth above. Dust fell, rocks shuddered, stalactites fell from their perches, all of it building momentum until the inevitable collapse.

He’d done everything he could. All that was left was to let the earth play its part.

“Cataclysmic Collapse.”

***

Something burst out of the tunnel to the left. Celaine spun, loosing an arrow at the bloodhorror. The creature screamed as it collapsed to the ground, blood covering the walkway in a messy spectacle.

“Demons in the left tunnel,” Celaine shouted.

Emilia took up position on the left, placing herself in the centre of the walkway. An imp appeared, tossing an arrow of fire at her, but she split it with her rapier, holding her ground. Blessing roared in the room as Bud and Dylan formed up at the front of their force, shrouding them in enhancements and shielding them from enemy attacks.

Celaine was still at the top of the steps, exposed to the enemy, and her shout drew their attention. A jet of water shot at her, and she dodged to the side, then ducked as a wind of darkness shot her way, exploding against the ground behind her. Creatures clawed their way onto the dock by the pool, scrambling to try and get to her but clearly ill-suited for land. As one threw itself up the steps, she launched herself backward with Spring Step, loosing an arrow into its face before landing amongst the others at the top of the steps.

The warlocks had abandoned their formation now, the red essence already starting to dissipate from around the strange artifact at its centre. Behind her, bronze light filled the tunnel. A second later, the same light erupted from the formation beneath the stone platform the warlocks stood on. A woman in black robes rushed to the edge of the platform and leaned over the edge for a better look, holding onto one of the support pillars for balance. Her eyes went wide in realisation.

Celaine took aim, her blessing rushing through her and into her arrow as she called upon the strength of Power Shot. The woman started to speak and Celaine let her arrow fly. It pierced her in the chest, and she stopped. Blood spurted from her mouth. She swayed on her feet, then collapsed.

Others moved to investigate, but it was too late. A tremor ran through the cavern, the entire world quaking. There was a deafening crack. A line of bronze spread across the roof, growing brighter as it spread. Dust rained upon the warlocks. Stalactites crashed to the ground, crushing one of the monsters on the dock into a splatter of blood and scales. The roof began to crumble, chunks of rock smashing to the ground around the warlocks. A few of them managed to erect a shield spell, deflecting the bombardment and trying to organise an escape, but they stumbled on the shaking floor.

And then it all came crashing down. Dirt, and stone, and dust falling in a hail.

Screams filled the cavern as warlocks braced for impact, only for it all to abruptly stop. The quaking ceased. The falling stone hung, suspended in the air, entirely still as if time itself had frozen.

“What is that?” Emilia asked.

“I can’t tell,” Celaine whispered, searching for the source of this power. She unveiled her eyes, peering into the cavern and seeing a thick cloud of essence.

Then a stench so putrid she gagged entered the room, like a barrel of meat that had failed to cure and rotted instead. Her eyes went to the tunnel. A short demon limped into view, one hand outstretched toward the falling stone as if holding it up, while the other leant heavily on a walking cane. Its legs were black, as if afflicted by necrosis. Its skin was a rotten meat red and covered in boils. In places, its flesh was exposed and maggots writhed within, pink with its blood.

“That’s a greater demon,” Bud said.

The creature’s eyes fell on them, and Celaine felt a great weight press down on her. Its outstretched hand shifted in their direction. All at once, the stone was moving again, only now, it was flying at them.