Chapter 339: The Summoner's Commands
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Summon Small Water Elemental.
Summon Small Fire Elemental.
Summon Small Earth Elemental.
Summon Small Air Elemental.
Summon Small Ice Elemental.
Summon Elemental Beetle Swarm.
Summon Aervespertillo.
Summon Viper-Devil.
Summon Taranea.
Summon Hellhound.
Using the strange power that reached across planes combined with months of practice, Alex filled the moors bordering the forest with a small army of monsters. He used Hsekiu’s Technique and cycled current to keep his mana flowing.
Gwyllain’s already large eyes looked about ready to roll out of his head. “Wh—what’re you doing?”
Alex paused his spellcasting. “You said there might be monsters, right? Well, I don’t much like the idea of being attacked by monsters…so I’m bringing a bunch of my own.”
“How…how many?” the asrai asked.
“As many as I can. As many as it takes.” He looked skyward at a pack of six aervespertillos, flying above. “Scout the trees up ahead. Screech if your sound waves pick up anything bigger than this guy.” Alex nodded to Gwyllain. The blind, bat-like monsters released short cries, then shot over the trees, their oversized wings carrying them into the night.
Alex returned to monster summoning.
Soon, the area around him, Gwyllain, and Claygon was teeming with creatures from other planes, each watching their summoner with curiosity, mistrust and—in some cases—unconcealed anger. He definitely didn’t want to deal with bitter monsters, so he’d have to remember to approach them with respect. The young wizard drained and refilled his mana pool several times, but despite having loads of mana to draw from, he had to stop summoning monsters at a certain point. Creatures from other planes had limited time in the material world. If he kept them for too long, the ones he’d summoned first would run out of time and return to their home planes, whether he’d made use of them or not. So, if he needed more, he’d have to conjure more later.
The next thing Alex did was cast defensive spells: he covered his body with force armour, deflective rectangles, an Orb of Air and force shield. He then drank Sensory Enhancement and Flight potions, those two should do for now.
His last bit of preparation was to cast six forceballs and six Wizard’s Hands and then toss booby-trapped sleeping potions into the crimson glowing Hands. Alex stretched, cracked his knuckles, and began communicating with the summoned monsters, greeting them in different elemental tongues; one of the tongues of devils, one of the tongues of celestials, and one of the tongues of demons, and conveyed the same message to each group:
“I bet you’re wondering why I’ve called you all here,” he said.
‘Always wanted to say that,’ he added mentally.
“We’ll be going into the woods ahead of us on a rescue mission,” he repeated the message, switching tongues as he needed. “Water elementals, I’ll need you ready to give a young tree water. Earth elementals, be ready to do some gentle digging. Oh, and before I forget. Please come here, Bubbles.”
He pulled out sleeping potions and ‘fed’ one to each water elemental. “I’ll need you to jab this stuff into my enemies when I tell you to.”
Bubbles made a happy blub blub noise, and Alex had to fight the urge to pat the little creature. Tree first. Patting later.
“Alright.” He cracked his knuckles again then pointed at the woods. “Forward march.”
Alexander Roth strode confidently in the middle of his horde of summoned monsters. A pack of hellhounds ringed him. Taraneas climbed from tree to tree on their sets of eight golden legs. Viper-devils slithered into the brush, their tongues flicking out to test the air.
And then came the elementals.
Fire elementals rolled along the ground while preventing the foliage from burning by their own will. Earth elementals snaked beneath the soil, ready to erupt from the earth and pounce on unsuspecting attackers. Bubbles and the other water elementals rode on Claygon’s broad shoulders as the golem crashed through the brush. Ice elementals were out front and air elementals soared above.
Buzzing around the wizard in a cloud, were masses of elemental beetles, alert and primed to swarm anything that came too close.
None of the monsters Alex had summoned would be considered the most powerful. They were brought to the material world using first and second-tier spells after all, but what they lacked in power, they made up for in numbers, and if they were coordinated as a proper unit, they could do some terrible things working in tandem.
“You uh, you’re prepared,” Gwyllain said a little nervously, staying close to the wizard. One of the hellhounds was eyeing the fae like he might be its next meal. Its eyes reflected crimson light from the wizard’s spells.
“You’re sure you need all these monsters? It’s uh…it’s a bit frightening.”
Alex smiled down at him reassuringly. “They won’t hurt you. And we’ll be thankful for these guys if we get attacked. Trust me.”
“Well…if you say so. But like I said, the monsters are gone.”
“Yeah, well…” Alex focused on his hearing, listening to the forest above the din rising from his army of monsters. Sharpening his senses through body cleansing had also made the potion of sensory enhancement even sharper. “…something tells me this isn’t going to be easy. Nothing ever is.”
Of course, he could get lucky like when he’d found Kybas’ cave in the botanical gardens, but he suspected that what was ahead would be a lot less friendly than the goblin wizard.
“Be still…” the Hunter whispered.
It crouched in the midst of a pack of venom-walkers, concealed within brush and shadow, awaiting the usurper. Among the trees far ahead, crimson light glowed in the centre of a field of flickering orange.
It looked like a full hunting party was out in force. Mana bled from a horde of figures—near fifty different creatures, by its count—moving along the forest floor, and in the sky. Still, the only one of them that mattered was the usurper. The others were nothing. They could not alter the Ravener’s plan, but the usurper could.
The ambush would be by the clearing where the aeld tree stood. Plant monsters were in position at the stone structure, ready for their part in the trap. The blue annis hags and their beast-goblins waited closeby to tighten the snare around the usurper’s throat. The final Hunter relished the time when its Ravener-spawn would strike from the rear, and if the usurper escaped, then the Hive-queen would emerge from her burrow near the great stone building and ensure his death.
“Be still,” the Hunter whispered. “Wait…wait…”
Its enemy was near, but…those flying creatures, they were even closer.
The final Hunter held its breath, going ever so still. It had nothing to fear. Even if the creatures could see in moonlight, the dense canopy covered the forest in deep shadow, veiling its horde from their eyes.
They would be well hidden if they remained sti—
…why were the flying monsters slowing?
What were they doing…hovering above the—
Screeeeeeech!
Six mind-shattering shrieks ripped the wilderness, slamming into both final Hunter and Ravener-spawn ears alike. The venom walkers cried out with incoherent gurgling sounds as they writhed and clawed the air.
Struggling to find its bearings, the Hunter improvised, altering its voice.
“Stop!” it cried in a human speech, throwing its voice. “Please don’t attack me, stranger! I mean you no harm!”
The aervespertillos’ shrieking split the night.
“What was that?” Gwyllain jumped, scurrying closer to Alex and Claygon.
Alex caught the sound of inhuman cries spreading through the once peaceful night.
“It sounds like monsters,” he said. “We—”
A woman’s voice cried. “Stop! Please don’t attack me, stranger! I mean you no harm!”
Alex hesitated, but only for an instant, remembering the patrizia’s ball and a clawed monster who’d mimicked Theresa’s voice to lure him.
Could the voice actually be human, or was it a mimic.
But.
Just in case.
Alex pin-pointed the sound of the cry, then shot a Wizard’s Hand toward it. He willed the spell’s crimson glow to dim until it was barely visible.
‘Human or not,’ Alex thought. ‘You’re going to sleep.’
A small light was shooting toward them.
“Wait!” the Hunter cried, trying to keep up the ruse. “You’re making a mistake, stranger, please don’t atta—”
The mana wasn’t slowing. If anything, it sped up, weaving through the woods, coming straight for the Ravener-spawn. The dim light kept moving forward.
The Hunter growled, dropping the deception.
“Atta—” the order started.
Then, a blinding crimson flash: a glowing Hand flared into incandescence.
Crnch! Hssssss!
Glass shattered, blasting vapour through the air.
In a blink, the Hunter was gone, barely dodging the spreading mist. Behind it, the cries of venom walkers rose, then faded.
Thmp. Thmp. Thmp.
The heavy thud of bodies dropping on the forest floor soon followed.
No more time to wait.
“Attack!” the Ravener’s Hunter roared. “Attack!”
“What is it, sister?” the younger hag demanded. “Why has the Ravener-thing started the attack? My birds were watching…but something happened to them!”
The elder hag cursed. “It was discovered! The fool and its servants were discovered! The enemy is fighting them now! We should go to their aid. Fight the enemy with our combined powers.”
“Noooo, sister,” the younger one said. “Think. Only send whatever beast-goblins we can spare to its aid, and no more. We should remain here with the crich-tulaghs. The big clay statue is dangerous, it wields fire magic and has a giant’s strength. If it lights the forest ablaze, we could burn. Let’s wait. Strike from right here with our magic.”
The elder of the two annis hags paused. “That’s wise. Let the Ravener-spawn fight first.”
The forest had come alive with the cries of monsters.
“It’s time,” Alex said. “Elemental beetles! Swarm out! Attack anything coming at us! If they have eyes, go for them!”
With fierce buzzing, the swarms launched for the trees and shot away into the darkness. Then Alex sent half of his forceballs into the canopy, while the other half fanned out into the undergrowth.
He wasn’t taking any chances at being blind to a silence-spider ambush.
He swallowed another potion: Haste.
Then tossed a flight potion to Gwyllain. “Drink up!” he said. “It’s a flight potion. Stay close to me, but if we get overrun, you can fly away!”
“You swear on your life drinking this is safe?” Gwyllain eyed the bottle in his hand sceptically.
“I swear on everyone dear to me.” Alex promised, understanding the fae’s scepticism. Baelin would approve of Gwyllain’s caution.
“O-okay!” the asrai fae said downing the potion.
“And with your permission, I’ll cast an Orb of Air on you too. It’ll protect you from breathing in anything nasty that’s in the air,” he said.
“Uh…that’s fine, Alex. I don’t know what that is, but you swore on your loved ones, so go ahead.”
The young wizard cast the spell and turned his gaze back toward the trees.
A monstrous roar had reached him earlier, and now the sound of bodies crashing through the brush was growing closer. Coming right for them.
“Air elementals!” he shouted. “Go into the canopy, stifle anything coming this way and rake them with lightning. Aervespertillos! Cover the trees and screech your lungs out! Stun anything moving through the woods!”
The cloud-like air elementals flew into the trees with a whoosh of wind, while the bat-like creatures—in the distance—swooped above the canopy, screeching as they went. Alex’s enhanced hearing picked out the clamour of monster calls mixing with heavy footfalls pounding toward them.
“Gwyllain! Which way to the tree?”
“Uh, er, forward!” the little fae pointed. “Straight forward.”
“Good. Water elementals! I want you to spray water on everything—except for the path right in front of us! Ground, plants, monsters, I don’t care, drench it all! Ice elementals! Freeze anything the water elementals spray!”
With the sound of rippling water and the cracking of ice, the elementals went to work, spraying and freezing in equal measure.
“Earth elementals, I need you to burrow under the ice and strike at anything coming our way. Twist ankles. Shatter feet. Pull things into the earth. Do anything you have to do to stop them!”
The earth elementals spread out, digging beneath the ice to do their master’s bidding.
“Viper-devils, I want you out in front! The path won’t be covered in ice so anything that comes from that direction, give it a taste of your venom and drop it. Hellhounds, your job is to stop anything that attacks us from the front. Fire elementals, you make anything the hellhounds grab sorry they ever attacked us.”
The devilish creatures hissed and growled as they bounded through the brush to organise themselves at the front.
“Taraneas, spray your silk on anything coming through the trees. If they get too close, let them feel your fangs!”
The celestial spiders skittered along tree trunks and branches, forming a circle in the canopy.
‘Claygon,’ Alex mentally reached out to his golem. ‘You smash anything coming at us from behind. If anything gets close to me or Gwyllain…then we’ll use our dance, just like we practised.”
The towering golem stepped behind Alex, ready to defend his creator and their companion.
“And me?” the young wizard said. “It's time for me to go to work.”
He shot Wizard’s Hands into the canopy, hunting for prey.
It didn’t take them long to find some.
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Summon Small Water Elemental.
Summon Small Fire Elemental.
Summon Small Earth Elemental.
Summon Small Air Elemental.
Summon Small Ice Elemental.
Summon Elemental Beetle Swarm.
Summon Aervespertillo.
Summon Viper-Devil.
Summon Taranea.
Summon Hellhound.
Using the strange power that reached across planes combined with months of practice, Alex filled the moors bordering the forest with a small army of monsters. He used Hsekiu’s Technique and cycled current to keep his mana flowing.
Gwyllain’s already large eyes looked about ready to roll out of his head. “Wh—what’re you doing?”
Alex paused his spellcasting. “You said there might be monsters, right? Well, I don’t much like the idea of being attacked by monsters…so I’m bringing a bunch of my own.”
“How…how many?” the asrai asked.
“As many as I can. As many as it takes.” He looked skyward at a pack of six aervespertillos, flying above. “Scout the trees up ahead. Screech if your sound waves pick up anything bigger than this guy.” Alex nodded to Gwyllain. The blind, bat-like monsters released short cries, then shot over the trees, their oversized wings carrying them into the night.
Alex returned to monster summoning.
Soon, the area around him, Gwyllain, and Claygon was teeming with creatures from other planes, each watching their summoner with curiosity, mistrust and—in some cases—unconcealed anger. He definitely didn’t want to deal with bitter monsters, so he’d have to remember to approach them with respect. The young wizard drained and refilled his mana pool several times, but despite having loads of mana to draw from, he had to stop summoning monsters at a certain point. Creatures from other planes had limited time in the material world. If he kept them for too long, the ones he’d summoned first would run out of time and return to their home planes, whether he’d made use of them or not. So, if he needed more, he’d have to conjure more later.
The next thing Alex did was cast defensive spells: he covered his body with force armour, deflective rectangles, an Orb of Air and force shield. He then drank Sensory Enhancement and Flight potions, those two should do for now.
His last bit of preparation was to cast six forceballs and six Wizard’s Hands and then toss booby-trapped sleeping potions into the crimson glowing Hands. Alex stretched, cracked his knuckles, and began communicating with the summoned monsters, greeting them in different elemental tongues; one of the tongues of devils, one of the tongues of celestials, and one of the tongues of demons, and conveyed the same message to each group:
“I bet you’re wondering why I’ve called you all here,” he said.
‘Always wanted to say that,’ he added mentally.
“We’ll be going into the woods ahead of us on a rescue mission,” he repeated the message, switching tongues as he needed. “Water elementals, I’ll need you ready to give a young tree water. Earth elementals, be ready to do some gentle digging. Oh, and before I forget. Please come here, Bubbles.”
He pulled out sleeping potions and ‘fed’ one to each water elemental. “I’ll need you to jab this stuff into my enemies when I tell you to.”
Bubbles made a happy blub blub noise, and Alex had to fight the urge to pat the little creature. Tree first. Patting later.
“Alright.” He cracked his knuckles again then pointed at the woods. “Forward march.”
Alexander Roth strode confidently in the middle of his horde of summoned monsters. A pack of hellhounds ringed him. Taraneas climbed from tree to tree on their sets of eight golden legs. Viper-devils slithered into the brush, their tongues flicking out to test the air.
And then came the elementals.
Fire elementals rolled along the ground while preventing the foliage from burning by their own will. Earth elementals snaked beneath the soil, ready to erupt from the earth and pounce on unsuspecting attackers. Bubbles and the other water elementals rode on Claygon’s broad shoulders as the golem crashed through the brush. Ice elementals were out front and air elementals soared above.
Buzzing around the wizard in a cloud, were masses of elemental beetles, alert and primed to swarm anything that came too close.
None of the monsters Alex had summoned would be considered the most powerful. They were brought to the material world using first and second-tier spells after all, but what they lacked in power, they made up for in numbers, and if they were coordinated as a proper unit, they could do some terrible things working in tandem.
“You uh, you’re prepared,” Gwyllain said a little nervously, staying close to the wizard. One of the hellhounds was eyeing the fae like he might be its next meal. Its eyes reflected crimson light from the wizard’s spells.
“You’re sure you need all these monsters? It’s uh…it’s a bit frightening.”
Alex smiled down at him reassuringly. “They won’t hurt you. And we’ll be thankful for these guys if we get attacked. Trust me.”
“Well…if you say so. But like I said, the monsters are gone.”
“Yeah, well…” Alex focused on his hearing, listening to the forest above the din rising from his army of monsters. Sharpening his senses through body cleansing had also made the potion of sensory enhancement even sharper. “…something tells me this isn’t going to be easy. Nothing ever is.”
Of course, he could get lucky like when he’d found Kybas’ cave in the botanical gardens, but he suspected that what was ahead would be a lot less friendly than the goblin wizard.
“Be still…” the Hunter whispered.
It crouched in the midst of a pack of venom-walkers, concealed within brush and shadow, awaiting the usurper. Among the trees far ahead, crimson light glowed in the centre of a field of flickering orange.
It looked like a full hunting party was out in force. Mana bled from a horde of figures—near fifty different creatures, by its count—moving along the forest floor, and in the sky. Still, the only one of them that mattered was the usurper. The others were nothing. They could not alter the Ravener’s plan, but the usurper could.
The ambush would be by the clearing where the aeld tree stood. Plant monsters were in position at the stone structure, ready for their part in the trap. The blue annis hags and their beast-goblins waited closeby to tighten the snare around the usurper’s throat. The final Hunter relished the time when its Ravener-spawn would strike from the rear, and if the usurper escaped, then the Hive-queen would emerge from her burrow near the great stone building and ensure his death.
“Be still,” the Hunter whispered. “Wait…wait…”
Its enemy was near, but…those flying creatures, they were even closer.
The final Hunter held its breath, going ever so still. It had nothing to fear. Even if the creatures could see in moonlight, the dense canopy covered the forest in deep shadow, veiling its horde from their eyes.
They would be well hidden if they remained sti—
…why were the flying monsters slowing?
What were they doing…hovering above the—
Screeeeeeech!
Six mind-shattering shrieks ripped the wilderness, slamming into both final Hunter and Ravener-spawn ears alike. The venom walkers cried out with incoherent gurgling sounds as they writhed and clawed the air.
Struggling to find its bearings, the Hunter improvised, altering its voice.
“Stop!” it cried in a human speech, throwing its voice. “Please don’t attack me, stranger! I mean you no harm!”
The aervespertillos’ shrieking split the night.
“What was that?” Gwyllain jumped, scurrying closer to Alex and Claygon.
Alex caught the sound of inhuman cries spreading through the once peaceful night.
“It sounds like monsters,” he said. “We—”
A woman’s voice cried. “Stop! Please don’t attack me, stranger! I mean you no harm!”
Alex hesitated, but only for an instant, remembering the patrizia’s ball and a clawed monster who’d mimicked Theresa’s voice to lure him.
Could the voice actually be human, or was it a mimic.
But.
Just in case.
Alex pin-pointed the sound of the cry, then shot a Wizard’s Hand toward it. He willed the spell’s crimson glow to dim until it was barely visible.
‘Human or not,’ Alex thought. ‘You’re going to sleep.’
A small light was shooting toward them.
“Wait!” the Hunter cried, trying to keep up the ruse. “You’re making a mistake, stranger, please don’t atta—”
The mana wasn’t slowing. If anything, it sped up, weaving through the woods, coming straight for the Ravener-spawn. The dim light kept moving forward.
The Hunter growled, dropping the deception.
“Atta—” the order started.
Then, a blinding crimson flash: a glowing Hand flared into incandescence.
Crnch! Hssssss!
Glass shattered, blasting vapour through the air.
In a blink, the Hunter was gone, barely dodging the spreading mist. Behind it, the cries of venom walkers rose, then faded.
Thmp. Thmp. Thmp.
The heavy thud of bodies dropping on the forest floor soon followed.
No more time to wait.
“Attack!” the Ravener’s Hunter roared. “Attack!”
“What is it, sister?” the younger hag demanded. “Why has the Ravener-thing started the attack? My birds were watching…but something happened to them!”
The elder hag cursed. “It was discovered! The fool and its servants were discovered! The enemy is fighting them now! We should go to their aid. Fight the enemy with our combined powers.”
“Noooo, sister,” the younger one said. “Think. Only send whatever beast-goblins we can spare to its aid, and no more. We should remain here with the crich-tulaghs. The big clay statue is dangerous, it wields fire magic and has a giant’s strength. If it lights the forest ablaze, we could burn. Let’s wait. Strike from right here with our magic.”
The elder of the two annis hags paused. “That’s wise. Let the Ravener-spawn fight first.”
The forest had come alive with the cries of monsters.
“It’s time,” Alex said. “Elemental beetles! Swarm out! Attack anything coming at us! If they have eyes, go for them!”
With fierce buzzing, the swarms launched for the trees and shot away into the darkness. Then Alex sent half of his forceballs into the canopy, while the other half fanned out into the undergrowth.
He wasn’t taking any chances at being blind to a silence-spider ambush.
He swallowed another potion: Haste.
Then tossed a flight potion to Gwyllain. “Drink up!” he said. “It’s a flight potion. Stay close to me, but if we get overrun, you can fly away!”
“You swear on your life drinking this is safe?” Gwyllain eyed the bottle in his hand sceptically.
“I swear on everyone dear to me.” Alex promised, understanding the fae’s scepticism. Baelin would approve of Gwyllain’s caution.
“O-okay!” the asrai fae said downing the potion.
“And with your permission, I’ll cast an Orb of Air on you too. It’ll protect you from breathing in anything nasty that’s in the air,” he said.
“Uh…that’s fine, Alex. I don’t know what that is, but you swore on your loved ones, so go ahead.”
The young wizard cast the spell and turned his gaze back toward the trees.
A monstrous roar had reached him earlier, and now the sound of bodies crashing through the brush was growing closer. Coming right for them.
“Air elementals!” he shouted. “Go into the canopy, stifle anything coming this way and rake them with lightning. Aervespertillos! Cover the trees and screech your lungs out! Stun anything moving through the woods!”
The cloud-like air elementals flew into the trees with a whoosh of wind, while the bat-like creatures—in the distance—swooped above the canopy, screeching as they went. Alex’s enhanced hearing picked out the clamour of monster calls mixing with heavy footfalls pounding toward them.
“Gwyllain! Which way to the tree?”
“Uh, er, forward!” the little fae pointed. “Straight forward.”
“Good. Water elementals! I want you to spray water on everything—except for the path right in front of us! Ground, plants, monsters, I don’t care, drench it all! Ice elementals! Freeze anything the water elementals spray!”
With the sound of rippling water and the cracking of ice, the elementals went to work, spraying and freezing in equal measure.
“Earth elementals, I need you to burrow under the ice and strike at anything coming our way. Twist ankles. Shatter feet. Pull things into the earth. Do anything you have to do to stop them!”
The earth elementals spread out, digging beneath the ice to do their master’s bidding.
“Viper-devils, I want you out in front! The path won’t be covered in ice so anything that comes from that direction, give it a taste of your venom and drop it. Hellhounds, your job is to stop anything that attacks us from the front. Fire elementals, you make anything the hellhounds grab sorry they ever attacked us.”
The devilish creatures hissed and growled as they bounded through the brush to organise themselves at the front.
“Taraneas, spray your silk on anything coming through the trees. If they get too close, let them feel your fangs!”
The celestial spiders skittered along tree trunks and branches, forming a circle in the canopy.
‘Claygon,’ Alex mentally reached out to his golem. ‘You smash anything coming at us from behind. If anything gets close to me or Gwyllain…then we’ll use our dance, just like we practised.”
The towering golem stepped behind Alex, ready to defend his creator and their companion.
“And me?” the young wizard said. “It's time for me to go to work.”
He shot Wizard’s Hands into the canopy, hunting for prey.
It didn’t take them long to find some.
Summon Small Water Elemental.Summon Small Fire Elemental.Summon Small Earth Elemental.Summon Small Air Elemental.Summon Small Ice Elemental.Summon Elemental Beetle Swarm.Summon Aervespertillo.Summon Viper-Devil.Summon Taranea.Summon Hellhound.Using the strange power that reached across planes combined with months of practice, Alex filled the moors bordering the forest with a small army of monsters. He used Hsekiu's Technique and cycled current to keep his mana flowing.Gwyllain's already large eyes looked about ready to roll out of his head. Whwhat're you doing?Alex paused his spellcasting. You said there might be monsters, right? Well, I don't much like the idea of being attacked by monstersso I'm bringing a bunch of my own.Howhow many? the asrai asked.As many as I can. As many as it takes. He looked skyward at a pack of six aervespertillos, flying above. Scout the trees up ahead. Screech if your sound waves pick up anything bigger than this guy. Alex nodded to Gwyllain. The blind, bat-like monsters released short cries, then shot over the trees, their oversized wings carrying them into the night.Alex returned to monster summoning.Soon, the area around him, Gwyllain, and Claygon was teeming with creatures from other planes, each watching their summoner with curiosity, mistrust andin some casesunconcealed anger. He definitely didn't want to deal with bitter monsters, so he'd have to remember to approach them with respect. The young wizard drained and refilled his mana pool several times, but despite having loads of mana to draw from, he had to stop summoning monsters at a certain point. Creatures from other planes had limited time in the material world. If he kept them for too long, the ones he'd summoned first would run out of time and return to their home planes, whether he'd made use of them or not. So, if he needed more, he'd have to conjure more later.The next thing Alex did was cast defensive spells: he covered his body with force armour, deflective rectangles, an Orb of Air and force shield. He then drank Sensory Enhancement and Flight potions, those two should do for now.His last bit of preparation was to cast six forceballs and six Wizard's Hands and then toss booby-trapped sleeping potions into the crimson glowing Hands. Alex stretched, cracked his knuckles, and began communicating with the summoned monsters, greeting them in different elemental tongues; one of the tongues of devils, one of the tongues of celestials, and one of the tongues of demons, and conveyed the same message to each group:I bet you're wondering why I've called you all here, he said.Always wanted to say that,' he added mentally.We'll be going into the woods ahead of us on a rescue mission, he repeated the message, switching tongues as he needed. Water elementals, I'll need you ready to give a young tree water. Earth elementals, be ready to do some gentle digging. Oh, and before I forget. Please come here, Bubbles.He pulled out sleeping potions and fed' one to each water elemental. I'll need you to jab this stuff into my enemies when I tell you to.Bubbles made a happy blub blub noise, and Alex had to fight the urge to pat the little creature. Tree first. Patting later.Alright. He cracked his knuckles again then pointed at the woods. Forward march.Alexander Roth strode confidently in the middle of his horde of summoned monsters. A pack of hellhounds ringed him. Taraneas climbed from tree to tree on their sets of eight golden legs. Viper-devils slithered into the brush, their tongues flicking out to test the air.And then came the elementals.Fire elementals rolled along the ground while preventing the foliage from burning by their own will. Earth elementals snaked beneath the soil, ready to erupt from the earth and pounce on unsuspecting attackers. Bubbles and the other water elementals rode on Claygon's broad shoulders as the golem crashed through the brush. Ice elementals were out front and air elementals soared above.Buzzing around the wizard in a cloud, were masses of elemental beetles, alert and primed to swarm anything that came too close.None of the monsters Alex had summoned would be considered the most powerful. They were brought to the material world using first and second-tier spells after all, but what they lacked in power, they made up for in numbers, and if they were coordinated as a proper unit, they could do some terrible things working in tandem.You uh, you're prepared, Gwyllain said a little nervously, staying close to the wizard. One of the hellhounds was eyeing the fae like he might be its next meal. Its eyes reflected crimson light from the wizard's spells.You're sure you need all these monsters? It's uhit's a bit frightening.Alex smiled down at him reassuringly. They won't hurt you. And we'll be thankful for these guys if we get attacked. Trust me.Wellif you say so. But like I said, the monsters are gone.Yeah, well Alex focused on his hearing, listening to the forest above the din rising from his army of monsters. Sharpening his senses through body cleansing had also made the potion of sensory enhancement even sharper. something tells me this isn't going to be easy. Nothing ever is.Of course, he could get lucky like when he'd found Kybas' cave in the botanical gardens, but he suspected that what was ahead would be a lot less friendly than the goblin wizard.Be still the Hunter whispered.It crouched in the midst of a pack of venom-walkers, concealed within brush and shadow, awaiting the usurper. Among the trees far ahead, crimson light glowed in the centre of a field of flickering orange.It looked like a full hunting party was out in force. Mana bled from a horde of figuresnear fifty different creatures, by its countmoving along the forest floor, and in the sky. Still, the only one of them that mattered was the usurper. The others were nothing. They could not alter the Ravener's plan, but the usurper could.The ambush would be by the clearing where the aeld tree stood. Plant monsters were in position at the stone structure, ready for their part in the trap. The blue annis hags and their beast-goblins waited closeby to tighten the snare around the usurper's throat. The final Hunter relished the time when its Ravener-spawn would strike from the rear, and if the usurper escaped, then the Hive-queen would emerge from her burrow near the great stone building and ensure his death.Be still, the Hunter whispered. WaitwaitIts enemy was near, butthose flying creatures, they were even closer.The final Hunter held its breath, going ever so still. It had nothing to fear. Even if the creatures could see in moonlight, the dense canopy covered the forest in deep shadow, veiling its horde from their eyes.They would be well hidden if they remained stiwhy were the flying monsters slowing?What were they doinghovering above theScreeeeeeech!Six mind-shattering shrieks ripped the wilderness, slamming into both final Hunter and Ravener-spawn ears alike. The venom walkers cried out with incoherent gurgling sounds as they writhed and clawed the air.Struggling to find its bearings, the Hunter improvised, altering its voice.Stop! it cried in a human speech, throwing its voice. Please don't attack me, stranger! I mean you no harm!The aervespertillos' shrieking split the night.What was that? Gwyllain jumped, scurrying closer to Alex and Claygon.Alex caught the sound of inhuman cries spreading through the once peaceful night.It sounds like monsters, he said. WeA woman's voice cried. Stop! Please don't attack me, stranger! I mean you no harm!Alex hesitated, but only for an instant, remembering the patrizia's ball and a clawed monster who'd mimicked Theresa's voice to lure him.Could the voice actually be human, or was it a mimic.But.Just in case.Alex pin-pointed the sound of the cry, then shot a Wizard's Hand toward it. He willed the spell's crimson glow to dim until it was barely visible.Human or not,' Alex thought. You're going to sleep.'A small light was shooting toward them.Wait! the Hunter cried, trying to keep up the ruse. You're making a mistake, stranger, please don't attaThe mana wasn't slowing. If anything, it sped up, weaving through the woods, coming straight for the Ravener-spawn. The dim light kept moving forward.The Hunter growled, dropping the deception.Atta the order started.Then, a blinding crimson flash: a glowing Hand flared into incandescence.Crnch! Hssssss!Glass shattered, blasting vapour through the air.In a blink, the Hunter was gone, barely dodging the spreading mist. Behind it, the cries of venom walkers rose, then faded.Thmp. Thmp. Thmp.The heavy thud of bodies dropping on the forest floor soon followed.No more time to wait.Attack! the Ravener's Hunter roared. Attack!What is it, sister? the younger hag demanded. Why has the Ravener-thing started the attack? My birds were watchingbut something happened to them!The elder hag cursed. It was discovered! The fool and its servants were discovered! The enemy is fighting them now! We should go to their aid. Fight the enemy with our combined powers.Noooo, sister, the younger one said. Think. Only send whatever beast-goblins we can spare to its aid, and no more. We should remain here with the crich-tulaghs. The big clay statue is dangerous, it wields fire magic and has a giant's strength. If it lights the forest ablaze, we could burn. Let's wait. Strike from right here with our magic.The elder of the two annis hags paused. That's wise. Let the Ravener-spawn fight first.The forest had come alive with the cries of monsters.It's time, Alex said. Elemental beetles! Swarm out! Attack anything coming at us! If they have eyes, go for them!With fierce buzzing, the swarms launched for the trees and shot away into the darkness. Then Alex sent half of his forceballs into the canopy, while the other half fanned out into the undergrowth.He wasn't taking any chances at being blind to a silence-spider ambush.He swallowed another potion: Haste.Then tossed a flight potion to Gwyllain. Drink up! he said. It's a flight potion. Stay close to me, but if we get overrun, you can fly away!You swear on your life drinking this is safe? Gwyllain eyed the bottle in his hand sceptically.I swear on everyone dear to me. Alex promised, understanding the fae's scepticism. Baelin would approve of Gwyllain's caution.O-okay! the asrai fae said downing the potion.And with your permission, I'll cast an Orb of Air on you too. It'll protect you from breathing in anything nasty that's in the air, he said.Uhthat's fine, Alex. I don't know what that is, but you swore on your loved ones, so go ahead.The young wizard cast the spell and turned his gaze back toward the trees.A monstrous roar had reached him earlier, and now the sound of bodies crashing through the brush was growing closer. Coming right for them.Air elementals! he shouted. Go into the canopy, stifle anything coming this way and rake them with lightning. Aervespertillos! Cover the trees and screech your lungs out! Stun anything moving through the woods!The cloud-like air elementals flew into the trees with a whoosh of wind, while the bat-like creaturesin the distanceswooped above the canopy, screeching as they went. Alex's enhanced hearing picked out the clamour of monster calls mixing with heavy footfalls pounding toward them.Gwyllain! Which way to the tree?Uh, er, forward! the little fae pointed. Straight forward.Good. Water elementals! I want you to spray water on everythingexcept for the path right in front of us! Ground, plants, monsters, I don't care, drench it all! Ice elementals! Freeze anything the water elementals spray!With the sound of rippling water and the cracking of ice, the elementals went to work, spraying and freezing in equal measure.Earth elementals, I need you to burrow under the ice and strike at anything coming our way. Twist ankles. Shatter feet. Pull things into the earth. Do anything you have to do to stop them!The earth elementals spread out, digging beneath the ice to do their master's bidding.Viper-devils, I want you out in front! The path won't be covered in ice so anything that comes from that direction, give it a taste of your venom and drop it. Hellhounds, your job is to stop anything that attacks us from the front. Fire elementals, you make anything the hellhounds grab sorry they ever attacked us.The devilish creatures hissed and growled as they bounded through the brush to organise themselves at the front.Taraneas, spray your silk on anything coming through the trees. If they get too close, let them feel your fangs!The celestial spiders skittered along tree trunks and branches, forming a circle in the canopy.Claygon,' Alex mentally reached out to his golem. You smash anything coming at us from behind. If anything gets close to me or Gwyllainthen we'll use our dance, just like we practised.The towering golem stepped behind Alex, ready to defend his creator and their companion.And me? the young wizard said. It's time for me to go to work.He shot Wizard's Hands into the canopy, hunting for prey.It didn't take them long to find some.
