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Erick crafted a deep lair of [Stoneshape], ten meters down, with air vents to the surface, and [Crystalline Air] layered on the inside. Stone supports held a five meter roof above their heads, while [Conjure Item] produced all the beds and chairs and tables they would need for a nice, restful night.  

Mostly everyone stayed on the surface, though. Before Erick knew it, someone got a fire going. It was Kiri. She had [Grow]n a dense firewood for fuel, while he was downstairs making sure the place was ready to go. Consequently, they all needed water, because Kiri had used up four canteens to get that plant made, so if he could hurry up please, Rats was thirsty. Erick laughed. Kiri said the platinum water had a funny taste, so Erick obliged the request for water with a quick, concentrated downpour of [Call Lightning]. Clouds laid on the horizon, here and there in the twilight; no one would notice a downpour right on top of their camp.

Night came on, deep and restful, and cold. All the extra moisture in the air certainly didn’t help matters. Chill wind blew down from the north. Erick bundled himself in a thick [Conjure Armor], as did many others. Erick still had yet to decide on his armor, but for now, it was a comfortable, fluffy white thing. Others added fur lining to their usual armors, though; Erick was the only one in what was basically a blanket. Ophiel, reduced to one body, did not mind the cold. He danced in the wind over the camp, and over the fire. After ten minutes around the fire, Jane popped over to Spur to pick up ‘essential supplies’. She returned with two kegs, much to everyone’s joy. Beer went well with the sausages, cheeses, and breads Teressa and Kiri had packed.  

And they talked, about unimportant things. About the time of year, and what it meant when water season ended. About the memorable Shade incursions into town. About the hunt for Bulgan, who was still nowhere to be found. He might be dead, but no one really believed that.

Sometimes during the night, Erick played around with [Cleanse] and Mana Altering: Fire, to produce [Cleansing Flame].

--

Cleansing Flame, instant, medium range, 15 MP

A smokeless flame gradually consumes and transforms a large amount of organic material to naught but air.  

Deals no damage.

--

Kiri laughed, saying it took her a week to get that right. Rats demanded more celebration, for the creation of yet another successful spell, but Erick knew it was half a joke, half self-depreciation, and half whatever reason Rats could find to break open the second keg. Erick might have been a little drunk already; his math was suffering.

Eventually, the group settled around the fire, roasting sausages on metal skewers, telling stories.

Teressa smiled wide into the cold night, her white teeth flashing gold in the light of the fire, as she spoke of the past, “My father— He and my tribe. He took me on my first wyrm hunt when I was 17.” She giggled. “The first wyrm I ever hunted was a [Force Bolt] wyrm. My dad nearly shit his pants when about a hundred bolts flew at me.” She clanged her non-beer holding fist against her chest, saying, “But I had a shield! I blocked all of those bolts. The shield was in tatters afterward, and I was down to a sliver of health. But he said he had never been prouder. We hunted ten wyrms by the end of the month. I got thirty levels by the time we were done.” She stared into the fire, suddenly quiet. “It was a great time.” She reached for more beer, a slight sadness in her eyes.

Kiri picked up the slack, saying, “My first experience with a wyrm was when my grandparents took me to see a Killing.”  

Teressa’s bout of melancholy vanished; replaced with subtle anger. “A Killing! They still do that over there, eh?”

“Not all the time, but yes,” Kiri said.

Erick looked to Jane, wondering what a ‘Killing’ was. Jane shrugged at him.

Kiri held her beer with both hands, saying, “The Wyrm Knights had captured their namesake, and trussed the beast up with thick chains and thicker [Binding Ward]s, in a huge pavilion just outside of Tower town. The wyrm was red, but you could hardly see that, through the blood pouring from its open wounds. It was a Vitality wyrm. It couldn’t do anything except bleed more. The stench was awful. I was eight and I puked.” She laughed, saying, “Grandma chastised me. But it didn’t matter. We had arrived just before the Killing, and the show was starting. The wyrm’s body had been angled and held to expose the grand-rad area for the chosen noble.” 

She said, “I don’t remember the kids name, but he was the son of the magistrate. In front of a crowd of hundreds, this kid was given the opportunity to kill the wyrm. He had just Matriculated, I’m sure. Well! He took this enchanted sword, and started carving. Blood poured.” Kiri paused, then said, “The kid slipped on the blood. The sword went up, and then down.” She sipped her beer. “They couldn’t do anything to save him. The sword had carved right through his head by the time anyone realized what had happened.”

Erick sat, horrified for multiple reasons; he couldn’t decide which was worse.

Teressa said, “Ouch.”

Rats went, “Unpleasant!”  

Jane said nothing, while Poi poured himself more beer.  

“What happened after that?” Rats asked.

“I fainted.” Kiri paused, then said, “Years later, I heard that four Wyrm Knights lost their heads because that kid couldn’t hold onto a sharp sword.” She frowned, deeply, saying, “Only dragonkin knights executed, though. No human knights, despite the humans being up front and in charge the whole time.” She sarcastically said, “But I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.”

The fire crackled. Cold wind blew from the north, stirring across the wet ground.  

Jane said, “Shit like that really does happen, huh.”

“Yup.” Kiri quickly wiped her eyes, then said, “I had forgotten about the executions, until now.” She shook her head, saying, “I’m not even sure why grandma took me to the Killing. I think it might have been the only thing happening that weekend.”

Teressa said, “Taking kids on hunts is all well and great. But Killings… These are not good.”

Poi said, “They do it to stack the early levels and prevent easy assassinations. The mortality rates on young human nobles of the Republic is fifty percent to age twenty five.” He added, “I have no doubt that those people found guilty likely did have something to do with the kid’s death.”

Kiri frowned, saying, “Perhaps.”

Poi glared at Kiri, saying, “The Scaled Union was a society for the advancement of dragonkin into positions of power in the Greensoil Republic, where no positions exist for our kind. They came into being fifty years ago, but the whole organization quickly fell in with the incani and the Quiet War. They were radicalized into the Scaled Horns. Where there was once hope for change, now there were wasteland-influenced radicals hiding in human lands.” Poi said, “It is widely theorized that if it weren’t for the Scaled Horns, we dragonkin would have had positions higher than knighthood in the Republic twenty five years ago, back when forty-five years ago, the kingdom of Odaali was the backbone of a push for equal rights.”

Kiri looked surprised. Her eyes were wide, as she asked, “That almost happened?”

Poi said, “Baron was the title they were aiming for. This would have opened up a great many opportunities, but then the Halls of the Dead got involved… They wanted war, so they planned many smaller attacks to undermine Odaalian influence.” He said, “It worked. Killing a noble’s kid through dragonkin proxies was one of their tactics. I have no idea about your specific experience, but it tracks through what we know of the Scaled Horns. But who really knows? Your experience might have even been a normal abuse of power. Those were also rampant. I have no idea, and I don’t think you do either.” He added, “The Scaled Horns still exist, though mostly as chapter houses in the Wasteland Kingdoms. We don’t allow them in Spur, as they have taken a side in the Quiet War.” He stressed, “We take no sides, Kiri.”

Kiri stared into her beer.  

The fire crackled.

Rats eradicated the silence with a happy,  “My first real experience with a wyrm ended up with half my group dead.”

“Oh my gods.” Erick said, “I’m so sorry, Rats.”

Rats smiled to himself. He started to say, “Don’t worry about—” He paused. He said, “I was six years old. They were necromancers trying to capture a wyrm for experiments. They put a slug [Familiar] on my shoulder and sent me out across the Forest, with a canteen and a pack of meat. They found a wyrm before I did.” He smirked. “The slug vanished from my shoulders, and I wandered the Forest for two days before ‘a child’s assistance’ triggered. One thing led to another and I ended up in Spur’s Orphanage, growing up with the priests. It was a lot nicer than what came before.”

Teressa and Poi looked away from Rats, but Jane, Kiri, and Erick looked to him.  

Erick said, “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

Rats grinned at the fire, saying, “It’s in the past. But thank you, anyway.”

The night turned somber. The fire crackled, providing light and heat to the group, but the air of friendliness had vanished.  

Erick tried to revive that air, by saying, “So I’ve gotten some 9-star melee threat monster dossiers from Mog. Anyone want to hear about them?”

Poi said, “Yes. All of them, please.”

“Gods yes,” Rats said.

“Please,” Kiri said.

Teressa nodded, as Jane smirked at the fire.

Erick smiled. He bade Ophiel to fetch his bag, down in the underground bunker. Ophiel returned clutching a bag… But it wasn’t Erick’s. It was Poi’s. Poi just looked at the bag, knowing it was his.

Erick said, “One second.” He took the bag. The bunker was out of [Blink] sight, so with a quick pair of [Teleports], Erick grabbed his bag; the proper bag. He reappeared on the surface with the leather folder. He began with handing the folder to Poi, then said, “So the first and largest problem is a Toxic Hydra. It sticks around the western thousand-kilometer obelisk of Spur. People have already started to avoid the area, but the hydra only moves around a hundred kilometers a day. But this far north, we might find a Grand Earth Elemental, or maybe a Blood Cloud...”

The group listened as Erick rattled off what would have been ghost stories on Earth, but were deadly real threats on Veird. Poi handed out dossiers as he finished with them. Kiri and Jane eagerly read, both of them creating small wardlights to read by. Rats and Teressa shook their heads when offered the papers, preferring to listen to Erick.

Jane held the papers for the Toxic Hydra, flipping through them saying, “Wow. This is a monster.”

Teressa looked over, saw the dossier in Jane’s hand, and scrunched her face. “Toxic Hydras are the worst. They originally came from Nergal, you know? Some human introduced them to the Wasteland Kingdoms. They’re one of the primary reasons the Wasteland Kingdoms are the Wasteland Kingdoms.”

Erick frowned, saying, “That’s awful.”

“A lot of things are!” Rats said, smiling, drinking beer.

Erick spoke of monsters, as the night deepened, and the beer kegs were emptied.

Erick turned in first. He walked down the staircase into the ground, spilling solid fractals into the air as he passed through the [Solid Ward] barrier that laid across the top of the steps. Sunlightwards threw light into the underground lair, across the bunkroom setting. Six beds sat out in the open under an arched ceiling made of stone.  

Stone vents on the north side of the room poured cold air into the space, the funnels on the surface catching the wind, while vents on the south side of the room let the air continue on, back to the surface. Erick picked a bed on the edge. Ophiel, just the one, curled up on his own bed, beside the vent. His white feathers fluttered in the draft. He trilled out tiny violin chords, happy as a clam to be in the wind, even underground. Erick smiled at his [Familiar], but still gently shushed him. Ophiel went quiet. Soon, the only sounds in the deep room were the sound of wind flowing. Sleep came, soon enough.

- - - -

With the bright sun shining in the east, Erick and company blipped onto the sands of the Crystal Forest, along with ten Ophiel, a kilometer east of the grey wyrm pile; not upwind, but not downwind, either, keeping the sun out of their eyes. They had already scouted the pile not ten minutes ago, so they didn’t dare get closer than this. There was a slight problem with the plan. Or. Maybe not a problem. But a complication.

Kiri was the first to discover that the [Scent Ward]s across the decaying flesh were not enough to stop the wildlife from finding the pile. A hundred Crystal Mimics crowded the corpse, like jangling upright chandeliers, their white-blue flesh glittering in the morning sun as they walked upon their food. 

Two of them were not their normal white-blue color. They were bright red and twice as large as the common variety. All of the other mimics avoided the reds, giving them a wide berth.  

“Mother mimics,” Rats said.

Erick said, “I’ve never seen a red one.”

Teressa said, “They only show themselves as red when they gather like this. They’re still only level 31.” She said, “Kill it with [Withering], before it can turn back to blue. The dried out body of a mother mimic makes powerful healing potions, but only while it’s red.”

Erick said, “That’ll send [Cleanse] into the corpse, though. It’ll vanish?”

Kiri frowned, asking, “Has your [Cleanse] ever cleaned up a mimic corpse?”

“Well. No.” Erick said, “But… The wyrm corpse underneath could vanish, too. That there is more rot to that than flesh.”

Teressa said, “If it cleans the corpse away, don’t worry about it. Mother mimics are worth the lost time and effort.”

Poi said, “I agree. Those kinds of potions heal thousands and thousands of HP.”

“Well… Okay.” Erick looked to the wyrm corpse, and all the swarming mimics. He said. “It’ll certainly get dried out, either way.”

[Domain of the Withering Slime].

A bubble of translucent white formed around Erick, as thick air spilled up from the ground, all around. A shrill vibration cracked across the sky, as the semi-sentient slime crawled up from the wyrm corpse, wrapping around every sparkling mimic, strangling fluids from all hundred or more of the jam-packed plague monsters. The blue ones died. The two red ones launched into the air, rushing to go in any direction that would free them from their attacker, but their attacker covered kilometers of the Crystal Forest. There was no escape. The red mimics both managed to get twenty meters outside of the carrion pile before they succumbed to the [Withering].

Automatic [Cleanse]s erupted as mimics died, one after the other, but the wyrm corpse did not vanish. If the [Cleanse]s did anything at all, Erick couldn’t tell.

But both mother mimics spilled across the sands like broken ruby dolls.  

Rats said, “Wyrm corpse is still there.”

“Good,” Teressa said, smiling to make her fangs show.

Erick cut his aura as he sent four Ophiel to telekinetically pick up the remains, asking, “What are health potions usually made out of, anyway? And for that matter: what are mana potions?”

Kiri watched Ophiel pick up the ruby corpses, saying, “A combination of rad dust and other materials. Garnet dust and cow’s blood are main ingredients of the lowest level health potions, while Cyan Lilies and heavily diluted water essence make decent mana potions. Don’t want to use too many of them, though. It leads to intestinal rads, and that can lead to monsterfication.”  

Erick had Ophiel [Teleport] the red mimic corpses back to their underground base, saying, “Oh?”

Jane said, “I drank so many potions escorting Yetta through Ar’Kendrithyst… I would have had to have surgery, if I couldn’t just turn into a flame slime and spit the rads out.”

Erick stared, wide eyed at Jane, asking, “Really?”

“Yup. But surgery here is easy, Dad. It’s not like it is on Earth.” Jane paused. She corrected herself, “Ah. Well. Not easy. They just drain you to 0 HP in a [Health Drain Ward], then they cut you really fast, yanking out every bad thing. They heal you up afterward, though. It’s considerably more violent, but the recovery is quick.” She flashed her three-meter sword into her right hand, asking, “So? We ready for this? How long will it take before they start showing up?”

Teressa looked south, saying, “We should get one wyrm by noon.”

Erick put the thought of Jane with intestinal rads out of her mind. It was time to clear out some threats to the world. He looked around him, at his group. Everyone wore [Conjure Armor] of their own design. Erick’s own [Conjure Armor] was a plain white cloth suit, like Jane’s; he hadn’t really sat down and tried for a look, yet. Everyone except Teressa had a [Personal Ward] shimmering against their skin. Teressa had her mace and shield. Jane had her long, thin sword. The plan had been made hours ago, and refined based upon yesterday’s performance. They were ready.

Erick asked, “Okay?”

Teressa nodded. Everyone else kept their eyes either on the grey wyrm corpse, or on the horizon.  

The Ophiel who had stored away the red mimics, [Teleport]ed back beside Erick. All of them turned small, and maneuverable. He was ready.

The mimics had done a number on the corpse, eating maybe half of it. The automatic [Cleanse] from the Withering Slime did not fully destroy the corpse, either; but it likely did scrape off another half of the remaining flesh. There was still tons and tons of rotting meat left on the sand. Erick dismissed the [Scent Ward]s. A virulent, nasty smell, immediately filled the sky. Even though the air blew from the north to the south, and they were all positioned a kilometer to the east, the smell still reached them. Erick almost puked right there.

Rats slapped a hand over his nose, saying, “Holy gods! I thought there was a [Cleanse]!”

Kiri coughed, her eyes watering, saying, “A [Cleanse] should have at least killed some of the smell.”

“I think it made it worse.” Jane uttered, trying to maintain a stoic stare into the distance.

Teressa just smiled wide, breathing in the air, saying, “The [Cleanse] worked fine! They usually smell worse than this.” She chuckled. “It might be six hours till a wyrm shows.”

Kiri offered, “I can make it… make it smell more? If you want?”

Rats exclaimed again, “Holy gods! How could this possibly smell—” He turned to the side, and puked up breakfast.

Teressa patted him on the back as he continued to puke, saying, “There, there. You must go into battle lighter, anyway.” She said to Kiri, “Do it.”

Kiri blipped closer to the corpse, did something, then blipped back. Erick was barely able to keep track of her position, and would have lost her completely, had he not used [Ultrasight]. 

A fire bloomed, dark and green, crawling across the corpse.

Kiri grimaced, saying, “Get ready. It’s gonna be bad.”

Rats puked, while the group prepared.

 Erick watched the burning corpse, and the saw a force pulsed through the sky, tossing stone and sand inches into the air. The pressure wave passed through the group, and now it was Erick’s turn to lose his breakfast. He turned to the side, and hurled.

Jane said, “Oh gods, Kiri. It smells like a thousand dumpster fires.”

Erick cast a [Scent Ward] across the group and filled the air with his [Cleanse Aura]. In a single moment, the air turned tolerable, then nice. Erick stood, dusting the sand off of his white [Conjure Armor] gambeson.

Rats said, “Thank you.”

Kiri wheezed out, “Thanks.”

Teressa mocked displeasure, smiling as she said, “But how will we smell them coming!”

Rats went ‘blegh’, spitting at the sand.

“What spell is that, Kiri?” Erick asked, as [Cleanse] cleaned out his mouth.

Kiri breathed deep, and easy, saying, “[Adjust Scent] and [Prestidigitation], for—” She glanced at Jane, then said to Erick, “[Dumpster Fire].”

Jane laughed.

“It won’t last long.” Kiri said, “It’s very useful for annoying the hell out of uppity nobles, though. I also have [Fish Stench] and [Rotten Eggs].”

Jane laughed, as Erick smiled.

Poi said, “Cut the chatter. We have an early arrival.” He sent, ‘Combat silence. Look to the south.’

Poi layered a telepathic network onto the group, as everyone turned south, and tension filled the air.

Far away, a dust cloud rumbled across the Crystal Forest, churning up sand and air alike. A wyrm. Purple and black, the wyrm flowed through its own minor dust storm, like it was riding a wave.  

Teressa sent, ‘Variant wyrm. No idea what that spell is— No. Wait. [Stoneshape]. It’s a [Stoneshape] wyrm. Difficult… but… up to you, Poi?’

‘I agree. It’s a [Stoneshape] wyrm.’ Poi sent, ‘We’re not fighting that. Kill it, Erick.’

Erick sent a full-sized Ophiel into the sky, a hundred meters above and in front of the wyrm. Stone swirled in the air around the wyrm, as it saw Ophiel. It blinked into the air, moving faster than Erick thought possible, the very ground turning to long spikes, like the wyrm had dragged the ground up with.

The wyrm’s maw opened wide. Rotten teeth flashed in the early morning sunlight.

Opheil turned tiny, then created a minor-sized [Crystalline Air] around itself. The purple wyrm swallowed Opheil, but got stuck on the [Familiar]’s [Solid Ward]. Its body snapped forward, like a snake slapping sideways on a stick. Ophiel’s [Solid Ward] ripped out of the wyrm’s body, but the wyrm was still alive. The [Crystalline Air] did its job; the wyrm’s momentum was gone. It hovered in the sky, spikes of stone breaking up to swirl around the beast, as it tried to eat Ophiel again.

Three more Ophiel, each full sized and covered in eyes, appeared around the wyrm, each of them casting [Force Beam] after [Force beam] from eye after eye, ten, then twenty white eye beams per Ophiel, the cutting spell trained upon the purple wyrm with perfect precision. The beams did nothing, at first, except piss off the wyrm. But they cut through the wyrms HP fast enough, and then they began to cut the beast itself.  

The purple wyrm struggled, snapping through the air, trying to catch an Ophiel and failing each time. Stone rain swirled around the monster, also trying to pelt the winged [Familiar], but Ophiel [Blink]ed, and dodged, using [Airshape] or [Swift Movement] as necessary.  

The purple wyrm snapped lucky, once, chomping down on an Ophiel. But Erick just sent in another, then conjured another Ophiel to replace the one lost to a lucky strike.  

Soon enough, purple wyrm slices and pieces and arms and legs, rained from the sky, as piece after piece severed from the whole. Eventually, after ten minutes, the wyrm was a five foot section of flesh that covered itself in solid stone, and fell to the ground. But Ophiel kept layering [Force Beam]s onto the monster, forty or fifty beams at a time, cutting through the stone, cutting the beast down to its pulsing core. [Force Beams] glanced against the core once or twice, and flashed wide, but Ophiel easily withstood its own beam, and adjusted the cutting angle. With the monster reduced to a pulsing tumor, four Handy Auras ripped the tumor apart, pulling out two purple grand-rads, finally killing the wyrm for good.

The team watched from the safety, and rather nice smelling, staging area, several hundred meters from the slaughter and scattered piles of purple flesh.

Rats sent, ‘That was terrifying.’

Kiri’s eyes were bright and full of life, as she sent, ‘That was FUCKING AMAZING.’

‘Sure. That, too,’ Rats sent.

Poi sent, ‘A [Stoneshape] wyrm in the Crystal Forest is death for half of all parties. We likely could have handled it, but we are here to hunt wyrms and end threats, not for jollies.’

Teressa reluctantly sent, ‘Right right. We get it, Poi.’

‘What level was it, Dad?’

Erick looked over his Status. He was still level 63, so the wyrm was below him, by quite a bit. ‘Level 50-something.’

Jane frowned into the distance, sending, ‘None of us are going to level from this, are we?’

‘Likely not.’ Kiri sent, ‘Especially if Erick kills them all.’

Teressa sent, ‘There will be more wyrms.’ She added, ‘Though we should get used to the smell, since we sill be fighting out there. Might want to kill this [Scent Ward], Erick.’

Rats sent, ‘Uh. Yeah. She’s right.’

Erick looked up at the faint glitter of the [Scent Ward] around them… and dismissed the spell.

“Oh gods!” Rats held his breath, then let it out slowly, saying, “I can smell it even without breathing in.”

Erick laughed loud. Then he puked up one final spat of breakfast. Another [Cleanse] cleaned out his mouth.  

Ophiel took the purple wyrm’s cores to the underground hideout, while Erick and everyone else, watched the horizon. Waiting for the next monster to appear.

- - - -

Another two wyrms showed. Each time, Erick stopped them with a [Crystalline Air], ripping thousands of points of initial damage out of their body, as the [Solid Ward] ripped through their flesh and stole their momentum.

The first one was another grey wyrm, but much, much smaller than what came before; maybe only twenty meters long. It cast about ten [Force Bolts] a second, which, while they struck those who they intended to strike, only did 50 damage a pop. Erick held a shield for the first time, blocking many of the bolts before they could reach him. Kiri, Rats, and Poi, each chose Erick’s method of mitigating the bolts, each with a shield of their own. Jane just dodged them, but she did not fight.  

Only Teressa and Rats and Poi were up for this fight. Teressa blocked bolts as needed, but mostly she bashed the wyrm whenever it tried to bite her. Rats' healing more than made up for the damage the wyrm tried to inflict, while Teressa caved its skull several times over the course of the five minute fight. Rats ran low on mana; but he did good. Teressa said that her HP never went down below 75%. Soon enough, Teressa had smashed enough to reach the cores, and rip them out. From Erick’s position, it looked like Rats and Teressa killed this second grey wyrm all on their own.

What did Poi do? He breathed a bit harder, sure, but Erick couldn’t quite tell, and he was too ashamed to ask at the moment.

Jane and Kiri took the second wyrm. It was bright blue, but just as covered in open wounds and rotten flesh as all the rest. Kiri stayed low to the ground, flying fast, left and right, [Blink]ing as needed, avoiding snapping jaws, igniting fire across the blue wyrm, like napalm. Jane kept back, for this wyrm was an [Airshape] wyrm, and it controlled the very sky around its body. She tried to leap onto it, tried to flash her sword through the beast, but a draft held her in the air; a stable and easy target. She [Blink]ed away before the monster could snap its jaws over her.  

Erick’s heart almost leapt out of his chest, but he stayed back; this was their show. This wyrm seemed to move a lot faster than the last one, but Jane and Kiri could handle it.

Three seconds later, Jane found an opening. She sliced the wyrm in half, her sword trailing the barest line of red blood, as a third of the beast flew out of its control, to crash against the ground like so much rotten meat. The blue wyrm turned on itself, racing to the ground, trying to consume its own flesh. From there, it was an easy kill. Kiri burned, while Jane cut.

Eventually, Jane hoisted out a bright blue grand-rad, two foot across, from the center of the beast. Ophiel took the rad, and stuffed it back with the other obvious loot, back in the underground hideout.

Over the course of the day, another two wyrms showed up. A black, and a red; another [Stoneshape] wyrm, and a then finally, a [Ward] wyrm. Erick killed the black [Stoneshape] wyrm, netting them a single near-perfect, spherical, head-sized grand-rad.  

The red [Ward] wyrm was the most difficult wyrm of the day, but only because [Ward] itself was so varied, and the monster absolutely covered the field in [Ward]s of every kind.

The red wyrm cast dozens of what had to be 5000 point [Absorption Ward]s across the battlefield, and itself. The wyrm did almost no damage, but it also took no damage. Jane’s sword bounced off of glittering red scales. Kiri’s fire smothered under [Cold Ward]s. It cast [Heat Ward]s, but those didn’t matter; as soon as living flesh touched them, they burned out. The [Drain Wards], a [Ward] Erick had never experimented with yet, were slightly more dangerous; but they didn’t drain very fast. [Gravity Ward]s caused all sorts of trouble, tossing Teressa across the battlefield, and disrupting all coordination, as sand fountained from the ground, or someone flew sideways. [Special Ward]s blinded. [Distortion Ward]s blocked line of sight.  

The battlefield moved away from the initial point, just so people could see what they were doing.

This was not a fight for less than the whole team. Soon, everyone, including Erick, was attacking it, burning through countless, endless area [Absorption Ward]s, trying to crack the egg, so to speak; trying to inflict enough damage to enable Jane to cut through the red monster.

The only moment of absolute panic came when the red wyrm managed to snatch Teressa in its jaws, but that was a short lived panic. The wyrm had bitten through its own area [Absorption Ward], chewing Teressa, killing the [Ward] and allowing Jane to slice its head off. Fires covered half the monster’s skin, and every Ophiel was throwing dozens of [Force Beams] at the beast, but it was only just enough for Jane to save Teressa from getting swallowed.  

When Teressa was finally clear of the monster, Erick had had enough. This was not a monster to be learning from. This was a monster to kill. He unloaded on the beast… or at least, he tried to. The sky darkened with five [Call Lightning]s. Four Ophiel and Erick drew lines of power through the monster, sending bolt after bolt through the beast, but only five actually managed to get through the [Weather Wards] scattered across the land.  

Five out of fifty bolts was not enough. But it created an opening. As the rain barely came down, as the spell was spent from the sky and clouds began to disperse, Jane leapt across the field, [Shadowalk]ing under the monster.  

Great spears of darkness pierced up from below, impaling the red wyrm and breaking off from the sands, holding into the body of the beast like Jane had driven telephone poles into its body. It had no hope of its [Absorption Ward]s blocking that sort of constant damage.  

Jane finished off the red wyrm, all on her own, with her long sword carving away half of the creature’s flesh, then another half. Then another half. Jane got down to a singular, bright red grand rad, bright as the sun, maybe only half a meter long, and yanked it from the wiggling body. Finally, the wyrm was truly dead; the body laid still.  

Wyrm corpses and body parts laid scattered across the sands of the Crystal Forest. The sun was an hour from setting. They had fought the beast for the better part of an hour.

Erick declared, “Holy shit. Was that the last one?” He yelled out to Jane, who was still walking across the corpse, “What the fuck was that darkness stuff!”

Jane called out, carrying the bright red grand-rad, “I got [Shadowshape] a while ago.”

Erick mumbled, “Well that was a good buy.”

Rats spoke, barely able to stand, “I can’t go on.”

Poi said, “I’m spent, too. We need to destroy the corpses now, and move away, fast.”

Erick laughed, then turned to Poi. “Like. No offense. But what did you do?”

Teressa laughed loud.  

Erick felt a flush of heat across his face. Did he miss something? He said, “Sorry, Poi. I just—”

“No no.” Poi said, “It’s perfectly reasonable to assume that the Mind Mage did nothing. Even though every time the monsters would have struck, I altered the course enough so that they didn’t.” He turned to Teressa, “Sorry, Teressa. You should never have been chewed on.”  He said, “I was low on mana.”

Erick felt like he had been slapped upside the head. “Really? That’s what a Mind Mage does?”

Jane said to Poi, “You’ll have to excuse my father. He’s very ignorant when it comes to magic.”

Rats and Kiri burst out a laugh.

Poi smiled.

Teressa touched the grey armor of her stomach. Five minutes ago, that’s where her intestines were spilling out through the holes in her armor. Now, her wounds were gone, thanks to Jane’s [Greater Treat Wounds]. Teressa had had to remake her armor, but that wasn’t really a problem after the issue of spilled intestines had been fixed.

Teressa said, “Thanks for being there, Poi.”

Erick threw his hands wide, saying, “I didn’t know!” He asked, “Is that part of how you know when people are around?”

Poi almost said something, but he crouched, sending out to the group, ‘We’re under atta—’

A bolt of fire clipped through Rat’s stomach, leaving a burning hole where his spine should have been. He collapsed to the ground, as five of Erick’s Ophiels each took burning, straight-through wounds, dispersing their forms into disintegrating feathers. The other five Ophiel managed to dodge.  

Hot, rushing panic filled Erick’s mind.

Erick instantly made the surviving Ophiel cast small-sized [Crystalline Air]s in the space around the group, blocking from multiple directions at once. He wasn’t fast enough to stop the burning orb that hit his own stomach. Almost all of his 8800 point [Personal Ward] ripped away, leaving spots of fiery brilliance clinging to his white [Conjure Armor]. Erick turned—

A firebolt went through the air where his head had been.  

One firebolt spacked off of a [Crystalline Air], slamming through Kiri’s arm, blowing it away. Another firebolt clipped another [Solid Ward]; the assassin’s spell missed striking Teressa’s head full-on. Fire burned away half of Teressa’s face, while another bolt went through her stomach, burning away flesh and bone. Poi dodged a blow to his head; completely. Jane turned to shadow; the two flaming orbs that would have struck her, passed harmlessly through her body.  

Two seconds had passed.  

Fire orbs struck the [Crystalline Air] hanging around the group, cracking and breaking through, but deflected enough to allow Erick a second to think.  

Jane thought faster, rushing to Rats, her hands glowing with healing magic.  

Aurify. [Stoneshape].

As Poi sent out a wild, ‘Down! Down!’

Erick was already casting. A wall of stone, all around Erick, all around everyone, rose up into the sky, ten meters thick. And Erick took the party down, down. Kiri fell to her knees. Jane held tight onto Rats. Poi fell next to Erick. Erick barely stayed upright.  

Firebolts followed down the hole, but struck the side of the new tunnel. They were [Fire Bolts] of some kind, but their unerring was minor compared to the pure damage of the spell.

The sky was a dot of light above. Erick moved the group down, and then left, casting a spot of wardlight when the sunlight vanished, illuminating the dome of stone around them, and the expanding puddles of blood, from three different people. Erick dodged their underground stone cart into a twist, curving the tunnel he had made into Veird, hoping that the assassins up top would see a twisting tunnel and decide not to follow. And then he cut off the entrance to the surface all together, locking them into the ground, without easy access to the surface. He stopped the stone cart. Two Ophiel blipped into the air beside him; the others were killed.

 A blue box appeared. Erick couldn’t read it right now. Kiri was screaming, holding her stump; she had started screaming up there, and down here it echoed. Jane had one hand on Rats and another on Teressa.  

Poi whipped out the rod of [Treat Wounds], sending, ‘Jane. Focus on Rats. Teressa will be fine, now.’

Jane was already on Rats, but she moved all of her focus to the scarlet dragonkin, pumping magic into his body, her face numb, his body…

Not coming back together.  

No wait! It was! The hole healed. Rats coughed. He was alive. He had lived.  

Everything was okay.

A rush of absolute terror passed Erick by, like he had almost stepped unthinking onto train tracks. Rats coughed again. Jane kept healing him. Teressa’s face pulled together, the wound in her chest already repairing with the magics Jane had already cast.

Poi rushed to Kiri, slamming a [Treat Wounds] into the girl. She stopped screaming. She calmed.  

Poi said, “We’re not safe here. When we’re stable, we’re running.”

Teressa roared awake, upright, screaming, “We’re killing those fuckers!”

Jane pressed her bloody hands to Rats, still prone on the ground but breathing, now. Tears streamed down her face. “We’re killing them, Poi. Tell me where they are.”

Kiri cried, holding her stump in the wane light of Erick’s single lightward.

Poi said, “I am not arguing. I am commanding.”

Erick felt numb. He breathed hard. He touched his face. Tears had streaked his cheeks, but his fingers came back red.

That second firebolt had not completely missed him. He felt the side of his face. Half of his left ear was gone. He stared at the shine of wetness on his fingers for a brief second. And then came the anger. A cold desire took root in his mind, spreading through his body. Not the hot anger, like usual. But a cold, dark thing. A hatred. A want.  

An absolute need.  

Erick asked, calm as could be, “Those were hunters, right?”

Jane looked at Erick, and Erick saw the pain in her eyes.  

Her eyes went wide. “Holy fuck you’re bleeding—”

“It’s just an ear. I’ll heal it later.” Erick said, “We came here to rid the forest of threats. This is a threat. They could be assassins, from Portal or some other fucking place. Or they could be hunters. I need to know. We will take this information from their bodies.”

Poi looked to Erick, and Poi flinched away.  

Erick didn't have time for whatever that was; not right now.

Rats stabilized, he sat up. Jane moved to Kiri, touching Erick with a bright heal along the way. Erick felt a burn on his face, a rapid pain across his ear, as flesh restored and nerves repaired. Soon, the feeling passed; his ear was back.

Erick sent, ‘Will they expect us to come after them?’

Poi sent, ‘I’m low on mana. Everyone is. Maybe… Kiri. Are you a Scion of Focus?’

Kiri sent, ‘I haven’t picked, yet. I can’t do it here, anyway.’

Erick sent to the group, ‘Is there a spell for transferring mana to someone else? Did anyone bring potions?’

Kiri sent, ‘This spell does not exist except—’ She winced, in pain, Jane touched her stump of an arm, applying [Greater Treat Wounds]. ‘Except as a Class feature. Mage Hunter and Font; one to take, one to give.’ She added, ‘They were likely invisible, anyway.’ She groaned a harsh laugh, sending, ‘If you actually had [Invisibility Purge]— It’s [Invisibility] and [Dispel].’

‘I would have noticed [Invisibility]’ Poi sent, ‘It wasn’t that.’

‘What happened out there, Poi?’ Erick asked.

‘… I can only blame myself and combat fatigue.’

‘That doesn’t matter right now.’ Jane reconstructed Kiri’s arm; it was currently a tendril of thin bone covered in thickening flesh, as she sent, ‘I need cloud cover and shadows, Dad. I can find them.’

Poi sent, ‘They’re likely long gone. But yes. If you want to do this, we will go out there spells blazing.’

Erick summoned another two Ophiel and sent them up. They were instantly shot out of the sky.

‘Fuck.’ Erick sent, ‘Ophiel was shot the second he appeared.’ Erick summoned ten normal [Conjure Force Elemental]s, shaped to look like Ophiel, but basically just flappy, wing-like monstrosities. The real Ophiel whined in flute sounds. Erick imbued his fake-Ophiels with [Teleport], and sent the group up. Checking with [Scry], the fake Ophiels scattered, flying around with a Handy Aura. Five of them were shot out of the sky, before someone noticed the [Scry] orb, and popped it. ‘Fuck.’ Erick sent, ‘Fake ones shot out of the sky, too. What spell is that? Is there more than one hunter? There has to be. How many, though?’

Jane smiled, as Kiri breathed softer. Her arm was back. Kiri panted as Jane pulled away, tiny flickering fire escaped from the edges of her mouth.  

Kiri sent, ‘It’s… [Fireball] on a [Force Bolt]. But condensed. Somehow. I think. It’s unerring, but not perfect. There’s too much power behind the spell to make it properly unerring.’

Jane stood back from the group. She had healed everyone more than enough. She sent, ‘Cloud cover, Dad.’  

Jane’s midnight blue [Conjure Armor] vanished. She stood nude for the briefest moment, before her flesh morphed, expanding. Eight legs, blacker than night. Eight brilliant eyes that glittered in the light of the orb on the floor of the room, while her front two eyes, much larger than the other six, were large enough to act as a dark mirror. Erick saw a reflection of himself and his two remaining Ophiel in his daughter’s eyes. And then he looked down, to the blood still there, on the stone.  

Erick sent an Ophiel upward.  

Before Ophiel died to a dozen firebolts, the sky blackened with a fast triple cast of [Call Lightning].  

Erick sent, ‘Wait to see if they [Dispel] it, first.’ He added, ‘And they stuck around after seeing me slam lightning into the [Ward] wyrm. They are either idiots who have lived under rocks, or assassins who know our capabilities.’ He stressed, ‘They know what we can do, Jane.’

Jane nodded with her whole spider body, sending, ‘And that won’t save them.’

Erick sent directly to Jane, and no one else, ‘Tania put you to sleep.’

Jane sent, ‘And right now, Poi is blocking all harmful mind magic.’

Erick instantly turned to Poi.  

The sapphire scaled man nodded, sending, ‘We thought shadowspiders were immune to mind magic, anyway; but it turns out they’re just highly resistant, and specialized spells work especially well on them. But we are prepared now, Erick.’

Erick breathed hard, preparing himself. He sent another [Scry] upward, into a different part of the battlefield. It was dark out there, the rain came down in sheets. The [Scry] orb popped.

‘How the FUCK are they noticing my [Scr— They’re still out there. Somewhere.’ He sent, ‘You’re up, Jane. Good hunting.’

Jane sunk into shadow, rippling the cooling blood on the ground as she left the underground room.  

Erick flashed a [Cleanse Aura] into the room, and cast a brighter wardlight, onto the ceiling. Blood and char vanished. Erick breathed easier, now. He checked the blue box that had appeared earlier.  

--

Stone Travel, medium range, 50 mana + Variable

A large area of stone stabilizes around you, then quickly moves at your discretion across or through other stone.

--

Erick sent a [Scry] orb upward.  

Surprised filled his entire being; a monster had joined the fight. 

A monster the size of a wyrm, but not a wyrm.

A radiant red snake with glowing white feathered wings, flew across the battlefield, burning away the clouds and rain above. It swooped down, quick as a lightning strike, dashing through a group of five humans below, burning one instantly to ash. The other four humans managed to [Blink] away from the monster.  

Seeing the beast in person was so much different than seeing it on paper. It was the Flare Couatl, and it was much bigger than the last report indicated.  

Jane, still a spider, just stood on the surface, wrapped in deep shadows, watching the carnage.  

Erick returned to himself, and said, “It’s the Flare Couatl.”

Rats winced out, “Good. Is it killing the assassins?”

“Yes.” Poi said, “And turning them to ash, which means we won’t know who they are.”

Rats said, “That’s okay!” He touched the fresh red scales across his stomach, then moved his feet… Or at least, tried to move his feet. He scowled. “Nerve damage. Not healed enough yet.”

Poi moved over to Rats with the rod of [Treat Wounds], and began healing the man.

Rats relaxed after a gentle touch from the rod, saying, “Thank you.”

Erick conjured two more Ophiel, and sent them upward—

“You're attacking the couatl, now?” Teressa asked.

“No. No way.” Erick said, “But I am going to kill one of them so that—” Erick looked through Ophiel, and paused. “Uh.” He said, “We need to get out there. No danger right now… maybe.” One small Ophiel each blipped next to Kir, Rats, Teressa, and Poi. “We’re going up. No spells blazing.”

- - - -

Erick, Teressa, Rats, and Kiri, appeared in a blip of white next to human-Jane; she had transformed back in the last second or five.

The clouds were ribbons of dispersing moisture, the ground wet, but drying. And in the sky, in a sunbeam of light, hovered the bright red Flare Couatl, its white wings spread wide. It hovered above several piles of ash, the land around those piles scarred with tracks of melted sand; dirty glass.  

The monster was a hundred meters long and curled up in on itself, just hovering there, like a draconic deity, its flat-nosed, sleek boa-constrictor like body, in a state of repose, or contemplation, or rest. Its nose was pointed down, while its eyes, to the sides of its head, were orbs of fire, and completely focused on Erick’s group.

It was acting just how the reports said it would act.

Soon, it would—

“Greetings, mortals.” The Flare Couatl’s voice boomed out across the Crystal Forest, further rending the sky and Erick’s clouds. It said, “You were under attack, and now you are delivered.”

Kiri whispered, “Holy shit it really can talk.”

Poi said, “It has to be a trained message.”

Jane said, “I want to eat it, but that’s a bad idea for a hundred different reasons.”

All of them spoke over each other, arguing about what was happening right in front of them, but Erick stepped forward from the group, calling out to the monster, “Thank you! You have saved our lives. Is there anything we can do for you?”

The Flare Couatl remained hovering in the air.  

“This is different from the report. It should be moving on.” Jane stepped to stand beside Erick, asking, “Is it actually intelligent?”

The Flare Couatl shifted slightly.

Teressa sent, ‘Combat protocol.’

‘No one move, yet,’ Poi sent.

The monster gently slithered through the air, like the sky was water and it was inquisitive. The monster’s giant red head was the size of a wyrm's, but its was sleek and healthy where a wyrm’s was jagged and rotten. The head slowly approached Erick. The beast moved like a cat, but its body was relaxed. Erick didn’t feel like it was going to strike, but that didn’t matter to Erick’s heart; the beating organ threatened to pound right out of his chest.  

Erick sent, ‘Ophiel will take us out of here if need—’

The Flare Couatl stopped, twenty meters away, hovering like the sword of Damocles. Its scales glittered with fire. Its eyes were twin suns. Erick felt a wash of heat across the land.

“Do you know of the Cinnabar Hand?” Its voice was a calm thing, completely in line with the monster’s lazy, floating form. “I am looking for them. These were not them. They were common hunters.”  

Poi said, “Independent hunter association.”

Erick spoke to the monster, “I knew of no Cinnabar Hand, until now. I thought these people were assassins.”

“They were a group of common hunters, gathered to hunt uncommon archmage prey, but nothing more than that.” The Flare Couatl slipped backward, sighing, saying, “I would have known, otherwise.”

Erick quickly asked, “Did the Cinnabar Hand kill your Beast Master?”

The air thrummed with subdued rage. Erick might gave just fucked up.

The monster roared, “They killed my VILLAGE.”   

“Apologies,” Erick said. “I did not know.”

The monster breathed deep, then said, “No one knows, but now you do. Beware, for the Cinnabar Hand consumes the flesh of others, and hides in the crowd. They are skinwalkers who strike with the hands of neighbors you have known for years. They destroy, for they are happiest covered in blood, and I will see them put down.”

Erick felt the Flare Couatl’s malice, but it was not directed at Erick; it flowed across the land like an ocean of hatred, searching for enemies. Erick understood that hatred. This monster— No. This being. This Flare Couatl wanted people dead, for the crimes those people had committed and the pain they had caused.  

In a bright second, Erick felt a kinship, there.

Poi whispered, “All true. No Cinnabar Hand sighted in Spur for years, though. We do routine checks.”

The Flare Couatl must have heard, for it said, “There are none in your city, for they hide in the wilderness of this open country, preying on the young ones who try to tame the world. They are all over. Everywhere! And yet nowhere! MY SEARCH IS ENDLESS! If you want to help, then make a Particle [Scan] spell, and root out these evildoers from our midst!”

Erick spoke, as though to a colleague, “Is the Toxic Hydra on the same mission?”

The Flare Couatl’s skin shimmered brilliant red. It spoke with a heavy voice, “Yes. And he has lost his way. Put him down, if you must, for I… I cannot. I will not.”

“Are you [Polymorph]ed people?” Erick asked, “I too, would like to prevent hunters from preying on the young, but everyone thinks you are a monster.”

The Flare Couatl chuckled, a deep, resonating sound, then said, “I am not a mortal. I am not a monster. I am vengeance given flesh and function. Cast your [Withering], and prove it to yourself, so that you may call off whatever hunts your guilds have set.”

‘Get ready,’ Erick sent, then said, “Okay.”

Poi, Teressa, Kiri, Jane, and Rats, each stood straighter, or stronger, or ready to move. Six ‘Affirmative’s came back to Erick.

[Domain of the Withering Slime].

A sphere of white light flowed into existence around Erick, translucent, as thick air spilled up from the Crystal Forest, washing across the talking monster. And nothing happened. Crashing air touched the Flare Couatl, passing across and into the monster’s opening mouth.  

The Flare Couatl closed its mouth, then said, “No [Weather Ward]s. No grand rad inside. No insanity. You have your proof. Take this proof back to your people, and call off your kill quests. Stopping the youngsters from attacking me takes up valuable time.” The not-monster added, “Though… Kill the hydra. If you can. He has lost himself. He has given himself to the mana, and the mana has taken him, transforming him into a Scion of Destruction.”  

A blip of red filled the sky. When the light passed, the Flare Couatl was gone.

Just like that. A decree, and then a [Teleport], and he was gone. Erick felt loss, somehow. He wanted to talk more. To ask more questions. To find out what was really happening with the Flare Couatl, and the Toxic Hydra, and if any of the other ‘monsters’ in the Crystal Forest were not monsters at all.

Jane asked, “What the fuck was that?”

Kiri said, “I have no idea.”

Erick stared at the sky, saying, “A village destroyed. A path of destruction. Not-monsters from Nergal hunting for hunters. I need to talk to the Mage Trio.” Erick said, “But first, I should tell Mog about this.”

Poi said, “Silverite and Killzone are being briefed, right now.” He added, “Mog is in the loop now, too. [Witness]es will come, soon. We should wait for that to happen.” Poi pointed up.

Erick followed Poi’s finger. He watched as a silver [Scry] orb appeared in the manasphere next to Poi, followed by a blue [Scry] orb, and a black one, too. They looked around. The black quickly vanished, while the silver lingered for a moment. Both the silver and the blue orb vanished at the same time. They were only in the air for five seconds.

After the [Scry] orbs vanished, Jane asked, “That couatl wasn’t a [Polymorph]ed person, was it?”

“No. I saw a part of its mind, and it was wholly a…” Poi looked at the blue sky, and the dissipating clouds, saying, “That was a monster. But not a monster. I don’t know what the fuck that was. I have never, ever, heard of anything like this, ever before.”

Teressa said, “A lot of dragon essence in that couatl. That’s the only way it could have gotten that big.”

“And a lot of other magic too, no doubt,” Poi said.

Kiri asked, “Why hasn’t another dragon eaten it, yet?”  

“That’s a very good question,” Poi said.

- - - -

The next two hours proceeded very fast. Silverite, Felair, and Hera appeared in a blip of silver, on the sands in front of Erick and the group. While yellowscaled Hera and silver Silverite asked questions of everyone present, bluescaled Felair cast [Witness]. Staring into the sky with eyes fully blue, Felair began piecing together what had happened during the hunter attack, when Erick and everyone were forced to retreat.  

The first thing Felair discovered was that all eight hunters had ties to a [Teleport] location four kilometers away, and that they had been watching since before the morning even started. They had noticed the carrion pile, left under a [Scent Ward], and knew that people would be using it to start a Feeding Frenzy, soon.

This instantly started an argument over ‘how come we didn’t take this into account’. The answer came from Jane, ‘Shit happens. We could have taken them. All they had was the surprise.’ Felair relayed what he saw, and agreed with Jane’s assessment. All eight hunter had the same ‘fireball’ ability, but not much beyond that. Each one of them looked like young rookies, out on the hunt to kill some high leveled people. They were actually talking amongst themselves about leaving, but then the [Ward] wyrm came, and they saw how beat down everyone was, and they decided that it was now or never. They chose to attack, and then the Flare Couatl showed up, as if summoned somehow, in some way.

Erick had an idea about that summoning, but did not give voice to his half-formed notion.

Felair relayed the entire experience of talking to the Flare Couatl to Silverite, and Hera, as Hera wrote it all down. And then Felair went over the scene again. And again. Just to make sure that they got everything. 

While they did all that, Erick and the group went over the bodies of the wyrms, giving a pass across the ones they had already checked, and then the red [Ward] wyrm, which they had not checked since they had been interrupted by hunters.

The total count of major loot, at the end of the day, was:

Three head-sized grey grand-rads from the first grey wyrm. Two complete, dried-out red mother mimics. Two chest-sized purple grand-rads from the purple wyrm. A single, chest-sized grey grand-rad from the second grey wyrm. A nearly meter-wide long blue grand-rad, from the blue wyrm. The spherical head-sized grand-rad from the black wyrm. And finally, the brilliant, shining, torso-sized red grand-rad, from the red [Ward] wyrm. All together, it was maybe 12,000 gold, for just those items alone.

But they found seven guild badges inside the [Ward] wyrm, along with the crushed equipment of at least two groups of adventurers. That killed a lot of the joy of the evening.  

This time, the loot was split evenly. There was a bit of a fight over the shining red grand-rad between Kiri and Jane, so Erick took that one as his sole loot from the day. Problem solved!  

As evening came on, Silverite was still investigating the Flare Couatl with Felair’s [Witness].

Erick and Kiri ignited [Cleansing Flame] across the fields of bodies. White and green heatless flames consumed rotten flesh, transforming it to naught but air, quickly clearing the land of the ever present scent of carrion.  

As the fires ate through the corpses, vanishing dead flesh, five more guild badges fell out of where the red wyrm had been. Three guild badges lay, shining on the sands, where the black [Stoneshape] wyrm was laid to rest. Two badges were found crushed against each other, where the purple [Stoneshape] wyrm was put down. 15 badges were retrieved from the wyrm’s corpses, in total. Scouring the burn sites also returned another 1500 gold in various crushed and broken metals.  

Feeling a heavy mix of emotions, Erick reconvened with the group, over the pile. Silverite joined them.

Silverite stood over the sheet where they had gathered all the objects they had found. Gold and grand-rads glittered in the twilight. The Mayor looked upon the spoils of war, and said, “You’ve saved a lot of future lives, today. No one will ever know it, but you should raise your heads high. You have ended threats against the world. Good job.” She smirked, and said, “And just so you’re aware, and I’m counting up 20,000 gold here. Taxes are 10,000 gold, now that you all are in the Adventurer Tax Bracket. Fun times!”

Groans and grumbles started—

Erick barked a laugh. He joked, “I thought I was immune to taxes for at least a year.”

Silverite nodded, saying, “16,600, then. Which means 8300 in taxes from the rest of you, paid at the end of the month, like usual.”

Kiri said, “Take whichever grand-rads you want. We’ll split the rest.”

“Nope!” Silverite said, “I don’t take bribes, Kiri. I honestly do mean taxes, for real. And you will pay them as normal, through normal channels.”

“Ha!” Erick said, “I’m sure she didn’t mean...”

Erick looked at Kiri and Silverite, as they looked at him, and then back at each other. Silverite just looked at Kiri, while Kiri paused, her eyes going wide.

“Oh?” Erick said, “That was… real?”

Kiri froze. She sputtered, out, “I didn’t mean to impugn upon your—”

“I would not have been able to remain the Mayor of Spur for 550 years, young lady, if I was willing to succumb to corruption. I understand that they do things a bit different in the Republic, but we tend not to do that sort of thing around here.” Silverite looked south, saying, “Or rather, three thousand kilometers that way, anyway.” She added, “Don’t worry about it.” She said to the group, “Anyway! Those hunters? Felair was able to link the hunters here to other hunters reported in Vindin. That Flare Couatl cleared up a tidy mess, here.”

Erick asked, “What was that non-monster, anyway?”

“No rad, so it’s not a monster, means it’s not a Beast Master’s pet.” Silverite said, “My guess is someone created a being through summoning magic, then gave it some dragon essence. The beast’s intelligence smacks of necromancy, though. It would have had to been in that form for a very long time, for Poi to not pick up on a humanoid intelligence. This is the work of a powerful necromancer.” Silverite said, “This is nasty business, Erick.”

Erick asked, “You know the Oceanside Mages have been hunting a necromancer in the forest, yeah? This has to be related, right?”

Silverite said, “This is my feeling, too.”

“I want to help them.”

Silverite asked, “The mages? Why?”

“Not the mages. The Flare Couatl.”

Jane groaned. Kiri frowned. Teressa and Rats both went ‘tsk’.  

Silverite frowned.

Poi said, “It’s not a person, Erick. If that is a necromancer’s work… It’s a soul in a monster’s body. The Toxic Hydra went monster. I… I am sure this one will, too.”

“That is my feeling as well.” Silverite turned to Erick, adding, “But if you wish to help this Flare Couatl, then make your case, Erick.”

Jane turned to Silverite, saying, “What!”

“Erick.” Silverite said, “Your thoughts?”

Erick breathed in the twilight air. It was clean, and bright, now that the wyrms had been burned away. The moons hung in the sky, crescents on the horizon, as stars began to appear in the deeper purples of the eastern heavens. A cold wind blew from the north, like always.  

He said, “I think we should reconvene with Ramizi, Maia, and Eduard, then continue this conversation.”

Silverite pursed her lips, then said, “Fair enough. But you and I are going to have a private conversation before all of that.”

- - - -

The journey back to Spur took minutes, once Erick got his Opheils on everyone, and the loot was secured.  

Blip. Blip. Blip. Then one more, semi-complicated blip, for 9 people to split up into two groups. Jane, Kiri, Rats, Teressa, and the loot, went home. Silverite, Hera, Felair, Poi, and Erick, blipped onto the steps of the Courthouse.  

In a few more minutes, Erick was sitting alone in Silverite’s office, with the door shut.

Silverite leaned against the front of her desk. Erick stood. He got the feeling this would be a short conversation.

She started, “So I’m gonna get honest with you. We have approved necromancers in Spur. They’re not that bad of a people, when they employ their abilities correctly. In public, I say that I kill and disapprove of necromancers, because I do. Often and with extreme violence. But only because necromancers usually seek to conquer and enslave. I think I even know the necromancer that they’re looking for, after today's events. But this is not about her. It’s not about them. It’s about you.” Silverite asked, “Are you looking to become a necromancer?”

Erick stood there, and with complete honesty, said, “No. I am not. But the Flare Couatl is not an evil being that deserves to be put down. It’s not even a monster that deserves to be pitied! I don’t understand how any of you can talk like it needs to die. It is a good being, doing good work, saving people from murderers.”

Silverite looked at Erick. She said, “In this instance, with this necromancer, Poi was wrong about the Flare Couatl turning monstrous. That beast will stay out there, hunting hunters, killing killers, until the necromancer finds the Cinnabar Hand they are looking for.” She added, “If it's the necromancer I’m thinking of.”  

She continued, “If I were you, I would kill the Toxic Hydra, ignore the necromancer’s request for a [Scan] spell to root out the Cinnabar Hand, and train every single day, using every tool at my disposal, to get better.” Silverite stressed, “Because the only time that Flare Couatl broke its normal speech, was when you spoke to it. And then it handed you a task. And it knew about your [Withering]. But make no mistake, it is undoubtedly still connected to its master, and this [Scan] spell is not a high priority for her. At least for right now. This does not mean that their request will remain a low priority.”

Erick listened, and he heard what Silverite was laying out. He understood what she was saying to him, deep down, but this understanding did not bring him comfort. It brought him pain. Because it meant—

Silverite said, “You are weak, Erick.”  

Yup. He was. There was no arguing that point.

Silverite said, “I say that with kindness, but I say it again: you are weak for your position. A real archmage would have killed those hunters the second they decided to attack.” She stressed, “Decided to attack, mind you. A real archmage would have seen those hunters plotting and positioning, throughout the entire day. Poi is about the best detector a non-archmage is capable of being. If it weren’t for him, you would have all died.”

Silenced filled the room, weighing entirely on Erick.

Silverite said, “Leave this necromancer work to the professionals. Learn how to see the assassins and the hunters and the dangers coming. There's magic out that will let you know about nearby immediate dangers such as today; you just need to learn about it, and then go make it. You seem to be pretty good at that sort of thing. So get better.”

Erick frowned, but there was a heavy truth to Silverite’s words. He could still imagine where his ear had been burned away. Erick steeled himself, and said, “You’re right.”

“I know.” Silverite said, “And it’s awful that I am.”

- - - -

Erick, Mog, Zago and Silverite, sat on one side of a long, heavy wood table, in a conference room of the Courthouse. Ramizi, Maia, and Eduard sat on the other side. Introductions and initial questions had already been exchanged, though Zago had said that she wished to speak to Erick afterwards; alone. Erick agreed. And then Poi gave his detailed report of the Flare Couatl, with telepathic imagery of the event, like it had been recorded with a camera, except the camera was Poi’s own eyes and ears.

Poi stood at the head of the table, ending his report with, “It vanished with a [Teleport].” He sat down.

Dozens of half-hidden emotions had already been thrown across room, as Poi’s testimony and imagery unfolded. No accusations, though; not yet. Ramizi had been mostly miffed and quiet. Maia, miffed and loud. Eduard, cold and calculating, his eyes furrowed, a slight frown upon his face. As for Erick’s side of the table, Mog just sat listening, while Zago and Silverite sat poised, ready to verbally attack, if needed.

Eduard started with, “You know our necromancer?”

Silverite said, “Yes. But to answer the question you really wanted to ask: we are not harboring her. And to throw our own accusations across the table: you know her, too. Or at least the Headmaster does. She never comes out of the jungle. Ever. She is a storm and she destroys by her very presence.” She scowled, saying, “And to level yet another bit of disgust— What the fuck were you thinking! Not telling us that she was here! We find this out, weeks after the fact, through no help by you, after she’s already infested the Crystal Forest with her monsters!”

Silverite’s words permeated the air, a damning accusation.  

Maia and Ramizi’s demeanor shifted to professional. Eduard sat straighter.  

Eduard spoke with authority, saying, “She has violated the agreement made between the Headmaster and herself, three hundred years ago. She has left her jungle. Messalina has forfeited her life.”

Zago sharply inhaled, but kept outwardly calm.  

“Thank you, for dropping the act.” Silverite asked, “Who wants to explain to the rest of the group?”

Erick just sat there, listening, as a silence filled the room

Maia broke the silence, saying, “Messalina is also known as the Life Binder. She is an unparalleled necromancer. She has kept to her jungle, the village the Flare Couatl mentioned, for the last three hundred years. The story goes, that if you seek a fresh start, the Life Binder will give you that, in exchange for all that you are. What she actually does is she creates a monstrous body, then she puts a petitioners soul into that body in exchange for 25 years of service protecting her village.” Maia said, “And a month ago, a group of the Cinnabar Hand murdered her village.”

“We’re not sure how they managed accomplish something which should have been impossible, or where they are right now.” Ramizi said, “But what we are sure of, is that the Cinnabar Hand has always had a presence in the Crystal Forest, and that Messalina knows this.” Ramizi looked to Erick, saying, “That the Flare Couatl actually asked you to create a Particle [Scan] spell, cinches it. She wants to eradicate the Cinnabar Hand, but even the highest tier [Scan] magic cannot uncover the vast distances and other bodies that the Cinnabar Hand utilizes to hide itself.”

Erick scoffed. “Really? No magic can do this? Surely someone would have invented this spell by now?” He turned to Zago and Silverite, asking, “Can we get Opal in on this? Isn’t she really good at detection?”

Silverite said, “If she wanted to be a part of this, she could. But she doesn’t. I can safely say, though, that this magic that [Scan]s even a small part of the world for specific people, no matter who they currently look like or what precautions they take, simply does not exist. If it ever did, then the hidden dragons of the world would murder anyone who had such a power.” She added, “Conversely, if one of those same hidden dragons had access to this spell, we would quickly find one more dragon in this world who could match the Headmaster for power, and threaten his position as Second.”

Erick said, “These ‘hidden dragons’ people keep mentioning haven’t gone after this Flare Couatl. Doesn’t that thing have dragon essence in it? Or…?”

Ramizi said, “An average dragon could not kill that Flare Couatl, so they leave it alone.”

“False.” Mog said, “That Flare Couatl was 30 meters long at last report.” She said, “I bet some dragons did try to kill it, and they failed.”

“Oh,” Erick said.

Ramizi amended, “Or that, yes. That could have happened, too.”

Zago said, “Don’t make this spell, Erick. You already have a large enough target on your back.”

Mog said, “Aye.”

Erick said, “I wasn’t… I won’t. But…” Erick paused. He said, “Tell me if I have something wrong, here. I want to help the Flare Couatl, now that I know its not a monster, but instead someone who volunteered for a new body. The necromancer is not some murder-y necromancer, but someone out to kill people who kill others the world over. We should be helping this Messalina. And then when she’s gotten her revenge, she’ll go back to her jungle, and we’ll be less a few dozen Cinnabar Hand. Right?” Erick added, “The Cinnabar Hand steals people’s faces, right? With [Polymorph]? That means they have to eat the person’s heart and brain, to do that, yes?”

Eduard’s face went red with anger as Erick spoke, but he held his tongue. Maia frowned. Ramizi just sat back, dispassionate. Mog sighed, while Zago was expressionless. Silverite just looked at him.  

When he was finished, Silverite said, “I agree—”

Eduard erupted, “What the FUCK!”

“— but for none of the reasons you have stated.” Silverite continued, “The Headmaster hates Messalina for personal reasons, and whatever he said to you three, is not the full truth. But this is not my truth to tell, so I will leave it at that. Messalina, for her part, is a hedonistic, power hungry cultist, who is the head of a cult all about her. When you get her angry, she is one of the most vicious women I have ever had the displeasure of knowing.”

Erick paled. Shit. He had made the wrong call.

Silverite continued, “But she is not evil. Her methods of ‘helping’ people are illegal in the vast majority of the world, but not where she lives. She treats her people with dignity, and respect, and gives new lives to those who would be dead otherwise. When their 25 years of servitude are over, she makes those that desire such a thing, new, young versions of their old bodies. Most of them choose to live the rest of their natural lives in that village, in a spec of paradise surrounded by some of the most hostile jungles on Veird. The Messalina I know does not use mind control, she just provides a wonderful life.”  

Maybe… Erick... hadn’t made the wrong call?

Eduard said, “It sounds almost as though you approve of her.”

Silverite ignored Eduard’s taunt, saying, “Due to this new information, Spur will quietly start a Cinnabar Hunt. I don’t know what happened to cause the Toxic Hydra, but Erick will put that monster down, and then we will let the Flare Couatl hunt Hunters for as long as Messalina desires.”

Eduard practically growled out, “Messalina needs to die for her crimes against Civilization.”

“If you can find her, go ahead. It’s your funeral.” Silverite said, “You three are great additions to this town, and let’s not forget the magic you have invented because of what you have learned here.” She scoffed, “But not telling me that Messalina is outside the city? That is a major mark against you. We will protect you against Messalina if you should find and fail to kill her, because it is the duty of civilization to protect its people from the monsters outside the walls. But keep in mind that citizenship in Spur demands my constant approval.” She added, “Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.”

Eduard countered, “Messalina killed hundreds on her rampage to Eidolon. She tore apart a school. She murdered a church of people in the middle of worship. She performed acts of necromancy in the streets, ripping souls from bodies only to trap them into decaying earth and wood elementals, as punishment for imagined slights. Those people died multiple deaths, over and over again, until an old woman stood up to her. That old woman died, too.” Eduard seemed to cool, somewhat. He said, “And then Messalina came up here. So, since the three of us are are already here, it falls to us to put this monster down.” Eduard said, “We could use your help.”

Silverite listened, then said, “I never said she didn’t deserve to die. I just said that Spur will not step into the fight when she’s killing killers. If that changes—”

Eduard interrupted, “The Toxic Hydra is killing all sorts. Messalina brought that here.”

“I’m going to kill the hydra.” Erick looked to the darkened windows of the conference room, saying, “I can do it tonight. I just need to find it. I’ve already got a list of terrible monsters that need killing, thanks to Mog. The Toxic Hydra is on that list.” He added, “I could actually use your help doing that, if you’re interested. Finding them, and such.”

Ramizi spoke up, “We are. We’re interested in the other targets on that list, too.”

Mog frowned, looking at the mages, saying, “None of those targets are safe for anyone except at a hundred kilometer range. If you [Teleport] near them, you will die. That is why Erick is cleared for them, and they’re not on the boards.” She added, “You’re not cleared to fight them, and I won’t clear you. If you attempt this, your adventuring license will be rescinded, at the very least.”

“We won’t fight them, then.” Ramizi said, “But allow us to help.”

“Why?” Mog asked.

Silverite sighed, saying, “Answer the question, Mage Fieldsend, and then back to the topic, everyone.”

Ramizi glanced from Silverite to Mog, saying, “You likely have a Desert Rose on that list. I want its heart, and its seeds.”

Mog breathed in, then huffed out. “If you can use your [Familiar]s to assist in clearing the list… If you can prove that you won’t go actually fight them. Then I can give you a copy.” She added, “These are uncommonly terrible monsters, Ramizi. They kill by just being nearby."

“We will abide by your ruling.” Ramizi smiled, then schooled his face. He said, “Thank you.”

Maia spoke up, “Our [Familiar]s have run into the Toxic Hydra twice. We have tried to kill it once, but we were completely unsuccessful. We won’t be trying that again. Our voluntary report of that monster should be part of the packet you got, Archmage.”  

Erick looked to Mog.  

Mog said, “One of five, but still true.”

Maia spoke to everyone, saying, “So you see? We come to you when we know you will help. But in this specific case, with Messalina, the Headmaster forbade us from disclosing the full amount of our knowledge, but since the dragon is out of the cave: The Headmaster would like you to know that your reluctance to do what needs to be done has been noted.”

Silverite glared, saying, “You still should have come to us.”

Erick just looked around for a golden [Scry] orb, or whatever.

 Maia saw Erick looking, and said, “He’s already [Cleanse]d himself of this situation. The extent of his words just then are the last he will have to do with you, regarding Messalina.”

“Good.” Silverite said, “He still should have told us.”

“Why?” Maia asked. “You’ve said yourself that you won’t do anything against her.”

“There’s nothing to be done, Mage Rokva.” Silverite said, “She is outside of Spur. She has not attacked the city. She is somewhere only Rozeta knows, and we are not imperialists! I have enough problems with Ar'Kendrithyst; the Shades have changed a lot in that city, and a lot of people have died because of those unknown changes. Chasing after the Headmaster’s vendetta is what you signed up for; not me, and certainly not Spur.”

Eduard said, “The Headmaster has no doubts that Messalina will escalate her monster creation if she cannot find the Cinnabar Hand and track down the people who killed her village.”

Silverite said, “If we find any members of the Cinnabar Hand in Spur, using conventional methods, we will execute them, then dump their corpses on the sands to the north in a suitably noticeable way. Messalina will take these corpses as gifts, and as an incentive to leave. If she does not, we might be having a very different conversation in a few weeks.” She added, “But I doubt we will find the Cinnabar Hand in Spur, anyway.” Silverite stood, saying, “I can tell you still have objections, but I have no time for them. We’re done here. Good luck on your hunt.” She added, “Please be on your way.”

Eduard stood up, starting, “Messalin—”

“Good night, Mage Rokva,” Silverite said.

Eduard went silent. He nodded. Ramizi and Maia stood up. Eduard led the way, as the other two followed him out of the Courthouse meeting room.  

Ramizi turned at the door, looking at Erick, to say, “We’ll look for the Toxic Hydra. We have a rough idea of where it is, so it shouldn’t take us more than an hour to find it. We’ll come over when we have its location.”

Erick said, “Sounds good to me.”

- - - -

Everyone cleared out of the room, back to their own duties or lives, except for Zago, Erick, and Poi. Silverite was the last one of the others to leave. When she left the room, she looked to Erick and Zago, saying nothing, as she closed the door behind her.

 Zago sat in her chair, with her hair pulled back in braids, and small gold rings on her small upturned horns. Her dress robe was almost white it was such a faint purple; much lighter than her violet skin. She did not look angry. She looked curious. And then she noticed Erick trying to figure her out.

With a small smile, Zago said, “I’m glad you made it back safely. I am not… mad, at you for killing a Breach Demon. Is that what you think?”

Erick said, “With all due respect, I honestly don’t know.”

Zago lost her smile, as she nodded. “The Quiet War is messy and complicated. It’s hard to know what anyone on the other side is thinking.” She sighed. “But the incani of Spur are happy that a Breach Demon was not summoned. All out war was avoided. Maybe there won’t be a retaliatory Converter Angel loosed in the lands of our extended families. But praying for that is like planning for rain in the Crystal Forest; a fool’s endeavor. Most of the time.” Zago added, “Though. Perhaps. Maybe Koyabez’s priests will see this one coming, too, and put blocks on the release of that inevitable tragedy, too.”  

Erick listened, and he heard what Zago was saying.  

He answered her directly, “If it happens, I will… if I am able to help, I will.”

Zago sat with poise, a tiny smile on her lips, but a sadness in her eyes. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Erick nodded. He changed the subject. “So I was thinking of taking some formal magic classes.”

Zago flinched. She said, “Maybe… Coming to the Guildhouse… right now? This might be premature. I know I said that we’re happy that war will not come. But happy with that, and with you, are two different things.” She added, “I’m… Sorry. Erick. I just don’t want my young ones to be consumed with the fact that there is an archmage in their presence. At least not right now. In a month things should have settled.”

Erick smiled sadly, knowing that Zago's words were not completely truthful. He said, “That’s okay. The Headmaster offered me classes once. I was considering to ask him, too. But with this new development… Did you know about Messalina?”

“I did not know she was here. It’s slightly terrifying, truthfully. She’s in several old stories.” Zago spoke with false reverence, “Messalina the Life Binder, the greatest necromancer of Nergal. Half of the greater monsters running around that jungle are attributed to her, though the actual number is likely much less. Flare Snakes were her creation. The original hydra was not, though she added dozens of varieties, and I think we can safely say, now, that the Toxic Hydra is her creation.” She added, “And if you can kill this toxic hydra, there are many more of those monsters that prowl the Kingdoms, that need to die. The Kingdoms would pay handsomely for this service, mind you.”  

“Maybe.” Erick looked to the dark window, and the night sky outside, saying, “I won’t go there until I can defend myself, though. This hunter attack... It was not good.”

“Yes. It looked quite bad.” Zago breathed, then looked away, then looked to Erick, saying, “You should go to Oceanside. The Headmaster will try to worm something out of you for your ‘temerity’, tonight. He doesn’t like being told ‘no’, in any shape or form.” She smiled softly, adding, “But you did threaten to recreate a [Gate] network, in this modern era. So maybe he’ll want you to get going on that.”

Erick winced. “How big of a splash did that make?”

“Very large, and very wide. Anhelia has been thoroughly occupied as of late.” Zago chuckled. “Barely at her desk!” She said, “Though, if you do decide to go forward with this idea, you simply must get some proper help. Which, again, brings us to proper arcanaeum training. I am glad you are seeking this out. Your methods are greatly successful, but there is much you simply cannot know, and cannot prepare against; at least as you are, right now.”

Erick nodded, then altered the subject. “Did Sizzi make her [Familiar], yet?”

Zago’s eyes lit up. “Yes!” She laughed. “She didn’t tell you? Oh that poor child. She must have lost her nerve.”

Erick smiled wide, saying, “She made one she likes? That’s great!”

Zago waved her hand through the air. “It took her a few days, but what are days of rapid progression compared to years of stagnation? She made this whole big production of it, too. A stone stage out in the Crystal Forest, carved in imagery and light. She got Anhelia to play the harp while I tapped away at drums. I’m not very good at music, but all I had to do was keep a beat. When everything was set, we went out there at noon, and she sang at the sun.” Zago smiled wide, saying, “[Telepathy], [Scry], [Lightshape], and [Conjure Force Elemental]. [Summon Rokkel]. It’s a three meter tall fractal crash of light, and also a tiny bunny. Perfect [Familiar].” Zago said, “Thank you, Erick. Sizzi is thrilled.”  

Erick smiled, saying, “I’m glad it worked.”

“I’m going to have to tease her about being unable to tell you, though.”

Erick laughed.