Aster Fall, Ch 14: The Iceblood Guild (Patreon)

The half-giant’s hand landed on the boy’s neck, scooping him off of the wagon seat like a strangled chicken.

“Ucgghk...!”

As he was swept into the air, a choked-off scream echoed from the boy’s throat. He dangled there, held up only by the giant’s hand as his face turned red and he struggled to breathe.

“Of course, if he doesn’t want to work for us, we can always freeze off some extra bits until he agrees. A Brewer only needs his hands.”

The sorcerer laughed as he raised the frost orb higher. A cold wind spiraled around him, hardening into a frosty edge like a blade.

His magic was strange in Sam’s senses, somehow part of him and not at the same time. The force of the ice did not fit the sorcerer. It felt like it belonged to something else, a more powerful concept or being than the thug should have been in contact with.

Before Sam could create a plan, he’d taken in what was happening and a wave of anger swept through his body.

The boy, Rusel, had to be 18 to have his class, but he was small and looked three years younger. He reminded Sam of himself when he was younger and weaker.

He didn’t know the merchant or his grandson, but everything about this encounter reminded him of Nelgen and the thugs in Cliff’s End, as well as Nelgen’s threats.

The constant irritation of the essence in the air was also making him short tempered.

He decided to do something about it.

KrisSSshhh.

A sudden, warning sense of danger caused the giant to look around as he felt something approaching him, only to see a flight of crystal blue arrows heading his way.

The giant was large, but clumsy, and before he could react, the arrows slammed into his shoulder, legs, and arms, ripping narrow holes through his body as they exploded out the other side.

Frost-tinged blood ran out of the wounds, pouring down the giant’s body as he shuddered. The boy fell out of his numb grip, tumbling to the ground like a wet sack of potatoes.

He lay there, shaking as he tried to catch his breath. His chest was heaving in quick jerks and starts, and his face was purple-red.

The giant was frozen in place for a moment as blood poured out of the half-dozen wounds on his body. Then, he gathered himself together as he slowly turned toward Sam, his mouth dropping open in a roar.

GGRaAAAGGh!!

A thunderous, rolling echo burst out through the area, like a wave of sonic force. It sent Sam’s cloak flaring into the wind and the horse beneath him shook, an instinctive fear rising up in it as it tried to buck.

Sam’s knees clamped down on it, holding it in place for a moment before he jumped off the saddle and pulled out his staff.

He slammed the butt into the ground in front of him, his left hand pushing outward as an Essence Shield formed in the air between his group and the three thugs, blocking the rest of the roar.

The wounds on the giant were already sealing over. The frost in the blood was hardening into an icy white layer as it stopped the bleeding.

He hadn’t been trying to kill the giant, but the hybrid’s durability was higher than he’d expected.

He’d thought it would at least fall down.

By that point, the advantage of surprise was gone as the other two thugs spun towards Sam.

At the same time, his father and Lesat jumped off their horses and came to stand beside him. Behind them, Krana was with his mother and sister, a bright yellow Earth shield surrounding them all.

The weight of the new amulet on Sam’s chest gave him the reassurance to push for what was right. Without that, he might have chosen to protect his family first and ignore this conflict.

It seemed his father was of the same mind.

“Leave these two alone and go,” Jeric ordered as he glared at the thugs. His hands were on his hips as his face hardened into sharp lines. “Otherwise, it won’t be just a wake-up call.”

His words framed Sam’s attack as something minor, a warning tap rather than a dangerous assault, but he wasn’t bothering to use Persuade on them.

Perhaps he also wanted to fight.

A spiral of crystal flame flared out around Sam as he compressed his aura. An even larger flight of a dozen arrows formed above him.

In his left hand, a roiling sphere of crystal flame appeared at the same time, far more intense than the frost sphere that the sorcerer was playing with. Flickers of crystal blue light radiated out across the area, glinting on the green of the grass and the stones of the road.

The sorcerer and the brawler turned toward them then, their faces turning to snarls of anger. The giant roared again, but the sound waves shattered against the Essence Shield in front of Sam, barely creating a ripple.

“Be careful!” the merchant shouted as he scrambled forward, grabbing at his grandson under the shoulders as he dragged him to the side. “They’re from the Iceblood Guild! They’re dangerous!”

It looked like the merchant wanted to go even farther away, but once he got Rusel to his wagon, he hesitated, looking back toward Sam and the others and then toward the Iceblood Guild.

He pulled Rusel up into the back of the wagon and stopped, turning around again with a look of conflicted desperation on his face.

He couldn’t run away right now.

Sam’s attack had placed him in an even worse position in some ways. Before, he might have been able to bribe his way out, but now he had to hope that the newcomers won this conflict.

If Sam lost, the Iceblood Guild would take out their anger on him and his grandson. He was forced into being a supporter by default.

“They’re stronger than they look!” he shouted, adding what bit of help he could.

“I don’t know who you are,” the sorcerer sneered as he raised the sphere of frost up in the air, “but you’ll pay for interrupting my business and attacking us.”

Despite his words, he hesitated as he looked toward Sam and the Essence Shield that was covering the area between them.

He glanced at the wounds on the giant and then shot a glare at the merchant that promised pain.

The amulet at Sam’s belt pinged repeatedly as it deflected the gazes that were turned toward him.

“These are criminals, right?” Sam growled, glancing over his shoulder toward the merchant as he took advantage of the sorcerer’s delay to ask the most important question.

He just wanted to confirm something before he killed them all.

He didn’t feel like getting in trouble with the city guard right now, not when they wanted to live here peacefully, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself from jumping in.

“Uh...yes,” the merchant mumbled, his eyes widening as he stared back and forth between Sam and the sorcerer.

He couldn’t make out Sam’s features beneath the grey hood. The strange caster was an enigma, his form blurry.

There was a threatening spiral of strange, crystalline flame surging around him in a bright, burning halo of rippling light. The frost that often touched the air was boiling away from him as the entire area heated up.

He wavered for a moment, before he decided to throw the rest of his chips in on the only bet he had left.

“They’re a band of thugs who have been harassing people throughout the villages around here for the last year. They have some strange and powerful Ice magic behind them...nothing I’ve ever seen before. They’re dangerous.”

“Good enough.” Sam nodded as he turned his attention back to the sorcerer. A weight of self-restraint lifted off of his chest. The sphere in his hand burned brighter as he poured more essence into it.

“That’s all I needed to know.”

“I’m going to kill all of you,” the sorcerer snarled as he looked toward the merchant and then back at Sam. His expression was ugly and dark.

“First you, Henar, and then these idiots. Those women will be my serving maids, licking my feet as I crush their will day by day.”

Before Sam or his father could attack, an Earthen spike exploded up from the ground between the sorcerer’s legs, heading straight up.

A strangled shriek broke off in the sorcerer’s throat as he tried to throw himself out of the way, but he was a bit too slow.

The stony spear shredded his thigh as he tumbled to the side.

“That’s enough of that,” Krana rumbled from behind Sam.

At that point, there was no need for more discussion.

Jeric and Lesat shot forward to the sides, angling around Sam’s shield as they headed for the enemies.

At the same time, the flight of arrows above Sam hissed forward in burning trails of crystal flame, separating into three groups of four as they headed toward each of the enemies.

This time, he was targeting their heads and hearts.

The sorcerer reacted, his frost sphere expanding into a swirling, icy barrier in front of him that was covered in streaks of white and blue. The four arrows heading his way slammed into it with shattering explosions, tearing gaps in the ice before they burned away.

To the side, the brawler dodged, his body flowing like a serpent as he tried to weave out of the way of the oncoming barrage.

He was fast, but two of the arrows still hit him, tearing a hole through his right bicep and abdomen.

He let out a sharp hiss of pain as he completed his spin and kicked off the ground, shooting towards Lesat, who was approaching him at a run.

The half giant was slower, and all four arrows slammed into his body, tearing holes in him. One exploded directly against his forehead and three others across his chest in a scintillating burst of crystal flame.

It wasn’t enough to take him down.

His bones had to be as hard as magical steel, or perhaps he was using some defensive ability now, since the arrows burned out before penetrating all the way through.

The levels of these thugs were all in the 40s, which meant it was a fairly even fight, but Sam’s side still had the advantage.

The tier upgrade at Level 40 had significantly advanced his father and Lesat’s skills as well, and with the enchantments from Sam, they had the advantage as they crashed against the two thug melee fighters.

Jeric was surrounded by a swirling yellow-gold Earthen Shield as his hammers appeared in his hands.

He’d upgraded the shield to Expert as his 40th tier choice, giving him an immensely strong defense against spells and other abilities.

His hammers resonated with a soul-stirring clash of deep, bass notes as he raised them in the air and activated both Reverberating Blow and his new tier ability.

Rain of Hammers.

His attacks slammed down toward the giant like meteors falling to earth, crashing into the giant’s arms that slowly rose to block, and then into his undefended legs.

Six attacks hit at once as Jeric’s hammers blurred through the air, slamming into him again and again.

The giant was immensely durable, but a bit slow, and against Jeric’s assault he was like an unrefined block of stone waiting for the sculptor to break it down.

Ringing thuds and cracks echoed from the impacts as Jeric pressed forward. His face was a mask of seething anger.

These three had threatened his wife and daughter.

The giant’s body shook with each blow as he stepped back, his feet slamming against the ground with heavy thuds as he tried to defend.

Even with Jeric’s massive strength, the giant wasn’t being knocked down, but he wasn’t able to respond either.

On the other side, Lesat was having a harder time of it against the Brawler-Body Transmuter.

The man was a bit shorter than Lesat and he slid around his attacks as if he didn’t have bones, his fists, palms, and feet lashing out.

Thuds and cracks rang out as the attacks slammed against Lesat’s shield and barriers. The guard was forced to shift to a more defensive posture as he was pushed back.

He wasn’t taking any damage yet, since he had several defensive barriers to take up the slack, but it wasn’t clear how long the charges in them would last.

The brawler’s attacks were coming hard and fast.

Crystal Focus extended across the area as Sam took in everything that was happening. Behind him, he could sense Krana and his mother starting new spells.

Altey also had her wand in her hand, looking for an opening. Her little face was frozen in concentration, her eyes tracking the battle.

She looked a bit scared, but more than that she was determined.

At that moment, Sam’s crystal flame sphere exploded against the sorcerer’s ice barrier, shattering it and revealing a furious, dark expression.

A circle of white frost formed on the dirt around the sorcerer as he raised his hands, chanting something under his breath. He gripped at the air, tearing at with his fingers, as he released his spell.

Two icy blue claws formed in front of him, each about six feet across, resembling the talons of some giant beast, including bony, spiked knuckles and crescent-shaped scales along the sides.

“Die!” the sorcerer snarled as he lashed forward with his hands again, controlling the claws.

The tips were sharp wedges nearly a foot long that glinted like frozen blades as they shot toward Sam.

His Essence Shield shuddered as the spell slammed into it, but held. The area where the claws touched the barrier began to crystallize, the sorcerer’s mana pouring away as it was locked down by the ability.

The thug clawed at the air again, trying to slash forward through the barrier, but Sam had already had enough of him.

The energies of the world resonated around him with a bright hum, like a memory of the dreams he’d had of the Nexus.

The images from the dreams gave him some more ideas on how to use his Aura of Crystal Flame, especially when he’d seen those three demons walk out of the Nexus and the four Astrals who had met them.

Now, he decided to try something new.

Eighteen points of essence poured out of his body in an instant, condensing into a star-like sphere. Instead of the simple, condensed flame that made up his usual fireball spell, which exploded outward on impact, this one had layers.

At the center, there was a bright, translucent spark of crystal flame, surrounded by four rotating spheres of cerulean blue that shaded darker toward the edges.

Each layer was made up of a few points of essence, and the bright heart at the center of the spell was a half dozen points on its own.

It looked like a star gleaming in the air, surrounded by layers of crystalline light.

As it hung there, echoes of the energy condensing in it pulsed out into the world, carrying a deep warning of the threat inside.

Starflame.

The spark at the center was a nascent rune for star, although it wasn’t fully formed yet. He felt a sense of mental strain that tugged at his mind and soul as he held the complicated spell form together.

With a flick of his will, the starflame sphere shot forward, heading straight for the sorcerer as it flew through the gaps in the claws.

As soon as he released it, Sam stepped forward, his hands outstretched to the sides as he slammed them together.

The Essence Shield in front of him responded, its sides curving toward the sorcerer as it surged ahead, following behind the starflame sphere as it formed a bubble around the sorcerer.

The claws were swept up by it, forced backward as Sam poured more essence into reinforcing the shield.

The sphere tumbled through the air toward the sorcerer, the layers in it spinning around one another as flares of energy flickered from the sides

It struck him on the chest as it shattered.

The rune at the center flared outwards, igniting the four layers surrounding it. One by one, each of them ruptured, burning outwards like a miniature nova.

Then the entire five-meter-wide area inside Sam’s Essence Shield disappeared in a wash of brilliant crystal light.

A giant, ear-rattling explosion ripped through the air, accompanied by a flare of light so bright it was probably visible from Highfold.

For a moment, a miniature sun was born where his spell had hit.

Then it was gone, the energy flowing upward as the shield channeled it toward the sky.

The Essence Shield was made from the same energy, so it was fairly efficient for him to block it. Most of the direct force from the explosions had rolled off it.

Only the sonic force and the exploding dirt and stones had drained his energy to contain them.

Sam pulled the shield back toward him, revealing what was left of the area.

The first thing he saw was a scorched black area, and then there was a huddled, charred form at the center that slowly, trembling, stood up.

The sorcerer’s clothes were nothing but rags and a large part of his body was burnt.

His features were barely recognizable, but he was still alive.

There was the shattered flavor of ash and broken ice in the air around him. The taste of it drifted in Sam's senses, evidence of some enchantment or artifact having exploded and saved his life.

Pity.

But it was something that he could fix. Sam raised his hand as he summoned another flight of crystal flame arrows to finish him off.

“I will...kill you...” the sorcerer gasped out as he haltingly reached into a pouch at his waist and pulled out a small, icy blue pill that he threw into his mouth.

The sorcerer’s earlier hesitation was gone as he let out a groan, grabbing toward his stomach and throat.

As soon as he swallowed the pill, Sam felt a weird surge of energy that echoed with a trace of essence. At the same moment, an white-blue layer of frost began to flow out of the sorcerer’s skin and cover his body,

A moment later, he was encased in the frost, like an elemental that had come to life, and he tilted his head back as he let out a pained roar. Spikes of ice burst out of his skin, forming a layer of frozen armor around him.

Whatever he’d taken, it looked like it was causing him a great deal of pain.

It was also healing him.

“The Iceblood Guild will not allow you to live after attacking us,” the sorcerer hissed. His voice was a strange, uneven warble of frozen vowels and cracked vocal cords. “I don’t know who you are, but your days have ended.

The sorcerer glanced toward his allies. At that moment, the giant was being beaten back by the repeated blows of Jeric’s attacks, staggering as he kept his arms raised to protect his face. It didn’t look like he was going to fall down anytime soon.

On the other side, the brawler was beating on Lesat like a child kicking a tin can, leaving repeated ringing sounds hanging in the air, but he was unable to break through his defense, leaving their match as a stalemate.

“Retreat,” the sorcerer hissed again, his words crackling as he spoke to the other two.

At the same time, he slammed his hands together in front of his face and a huge wave of white-blue ice burst out from the ground at his feet, like a tide heading for Sam, Lesat, and Jeric.

The front edge of it was a wall of jagged ice like tumbled spears, their tips bright and dangerous.

It forced Lesat and Jeric to take a step back, their shields hardening around them as they braced themselves against it, and a moment later it was surging over them with a sound like shattering glass.

It crashed against Sam’s Essence Shield with a force that was three times stronger than before, and the trace of essence in the ability was even more obvious.

It was the same as he’d felt in the snow, just vastly weaker, and it was pouring out of the sorcerer with a stunning lack of control, making it clear that the thug had no idea how to use it.

Perhaps he didn’t even have the ability to channel it properly.

It was clearly not his own power.

His abilities had been augmented somehow.

It raised several important questions in Sam’s mind, including how this Iceblood Guild was related to the force he’d felt in the snow.

Why were these thugs working with it...and why was it allowing that? An Outsider’s arrogance would only ever see humans as servants or slaves.

What did it want?

His questions were distracted as the icy tide faded away. It gave the three thugs enough time to disengage and they grouped together, turning as they ran off together into the distance.

Except for the brawler, their steps were limping, but they covered the ground easily. After a moment, the giant picked up the sorcerer and carried him in one arm, his legs stretching out as he ran faster.

After a moment, they were gone, fading away into the distance.

The only thing left behind was the shattered ice on the ground and the echoes of the fight that were still fading away.

Heads and frightened eyes began to pop out of the inn and stables as they looked toward what had just caused all of the commotion.

To the side, the merchant wiped frozen sweat off his forehead with a trembling hand as he looked toward Sam and then after the Iceblood Guild. His lips shook as he mumbled something to himself.

He looked down at his grandson, who was still safe in the back of the wagon, and then he turned toward Sam and the others, staring at them.

“I...have to thank you,” he mumbled slowly, shaking his head in confusion as he looked after the Iceblood Guild and then back to them. “I thought we were dead there...after you attacked. But you don’t know the trouble you’ve gotten yourselves into it...or the trouble you’ve brought on me for sure now.”

He sighed as he looked down at his grandson and shook his head again. Then he turned toward Sam and stomped over on half-numbed legs, examining them from head to toe with wary eyes.

“I’m Henar,” he said bluntly, as he started to grimace. “That’s my grandson Rusel. I thank you for your help.”

He looked around again at the heads sticking out windows and two large guards from the inn who were stomping towards them.

“You’ve saved our lives,” he added, the grimace deepening, “or close enough. But you’ve also taken some options away and made some things harder. I can’t buy them off now.”

He looked after the thugs again, as if thinking about something. Then he finally came to a decision as he looked back at Sam and Jeric, as well as the others who were gathering together in front of him now.

“Unfortunately, without you around in the future, we’ll just be dead again...unless we want to flee from Highfold. And right now, I’d rather not do that. I still have family here.”

He looked between the group, his gaze sliding away from Sam several times. His aged eyes took in Aemilia and Altey and softened slightly as he let out some of the breath he’d been holding.

His gaze moved on to the others, finally settling on Jeric as he singled him out as the oldest and the most likely to be the leader here.

“Instead, it looks like I’ll have to throw my lot in with you,” he said with a sigh, “...whoever you are. But at least, you can’t be worse than them. The woman and the kid with you prove that.”

He stuck his hand out toward Jeric.

“So, now you’ve got yourself a brewer. Pleased to meet you, I suppose.”

He glanced back toward the wagon as Jeric took his hand, and then he looked back, his eyes meeting Jeric’s in a direct, honest gaze.

“I hope you like ale.”

Over his shoulder, Sam stared into the distance as he tracked the direction that the Iceblood Guild had run, wondering where they were going.

And when they would be back.

He had no doubt that they would be.

The ice on the ground was shattering, turning into drifts of snow that began to blow through the air, as his hands curled into fists.

Crystal flame crackled around him, burning away the essence in the snow as it tried to land on his shoulders.