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Chapter 222 - Reverse Ambush (and Keychain Announcement)
🕑 Added 2023-05-06 23:34:47 +0000 UTCI’m super excited to announce the first piece of Hedge Wizard merch launching today! These are enamel and metal keychains and I think they turned out absolutely awesome. The whole thing started because I wanted something to put on my notebook strap, but then realised you can’t just produce this kind of thing outside of batch orders lol.
You can check them out here on Etsy: Etsy Link
Got some pics of the zoo showing them off, as well as the notebook finally complete…
I cannot express enough how hard I had to work to get these pictures. Not one of them tried to cooperate! Many a treat was traded.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
The tall one went down squealing. Celaine pulled another arrow from the quiver at her hip, nocking it silently. She found her next target—an archer hidden amongst the brush behind the main group, searching for her.
No chance.
He was too far even for her to risk a pinpoint shot, so she aimed for his chest. She pulled back the string, heavy against the insides of her fingers, the divine bow of Owalyn straining, welling with power. She loosed it gently, bowstring humming. She knew the arrow flew true the moment it left her string and sought out her next. A moment later, she heard the grunt as the man fell.
The others shouted, screaming to gather together. A shield spell appeared around the group, a wizard standing at their centre, staff in hand.
Shit, she cursed, letting her bowstring go limp.
The one that had taken an arrow through the shoulder stood back up and yanked it free, with a snarling scream. She felt her skin crawl. That was no human snarl. There was a change to the wind, a strangeness—essence. Runes flashed over his body, pulsing with light, every inch of his skin marred. He whirled around, searching for her.
She would not be found so easy. She slipped to the left, pulling shadows around her and hiding in them like a blanket as she crouched behind a large rock. She concentrated, intent on the wizard, deadly instinct building in her as she channelled Predator’s Intent, summoning her will to kill. Her unbending focus on the hunt.
The wizard suddenly turned around, as if he’d sensed a target on his back. Celaine smiled. She nocked another arrow. Power Shot would pierce the spell, but it would give her away.
A storm of power drew her attention upward. Bronze lightning exploded from Hump, striking the ground around him. It surged down the rocky outcrop in rivers of bronze, infusing the rocks and boulders before him with power.
They exploded forward, an avalanche of stone. Half a mountain descending on their assailants. Rocks exploded against the barrier, bouncing off it, piling up at its base. Cracks formed. Celaine waited, ready.
Within, the rune warrior screamed out orders, but she hardly listened, intent only on the kill. On the moment. The shield shattered and she loosed. Her arrow found the magic user’s neck, piercing it all the way through. Blood poured from the wound and the man’s eyes widened before he fell to the ground.
Two down.
The rest exploded forward with inhuman speed. Not Chosen, but they had power. One of them spotted her—a rogue of some sort, dagger in hand. He shouted, and an archer immediately pulled back their bow, the weapon shining with essence. An enchanted item or a martial skill. Celaine called upon her blessings, fuelling her arrow with Power Shot. Silver exploded amongst the woodland around her and streaked forward. A woman blurred forward, swatting aside her arrow with the smash of her shield. The Power Shot exploded on impact, sending her flying back. Not dead though.
Damn it.
The hair on the back of her neck pricked. Her instincts screamed at her to move and then she remembered the rogue. She whirled around as a shadow exploded behind her, the small man appearing, piercing at her with a rapier, dagger in his spare hand.
Celaine leapt back, Spring Step activating on instinct, essence surging through her legs and propelling her upward. Mid-air, she loosed another arrow. The rogue puffed into the shadows, dodging it.
She flipped through the air, landing deftly, expanding her senses in search for the attacker. When she sensed something stir behind her, she dropped her bow and drew Bloodshadow. The dagger came eagerly, its hunger pulsing through her fist.
Blood. Life. Feed.
She pulled the shadows to her, drawing upon the darkness of the trees. To the left, they felt weird, like something was pulling back. She turned as the rogue lunged forward, crossing a distance of five paces in a heartbeat. Celaine sidestepped the attack with ease, her cloak whirled around her, the shadows deepened, a fog of darkness hiding her. The rogue swung at them wildly but found no luck.
Celaine gathered the shadows to her left, drawing the man’s eyes as she moved right.
“Come at me, bitch!” he roared, seething anger in his voice. “I’ll—”
Celaine sprung forward, dagger held in a reverse grip, left hand on the pommel. The knife plunged through his neck without resistance.
The man stared at her with wide eyes. He seemed surprise.
“Gurgh,” escaped him.
“Who’s the bitch now?”
Life left his eyes, and Celaine yanked the dagger free. She raced back to her bow and turned back to the man’s companions—five left that she could see, and they were all rushing for Hump.
Hump rained boulders upon them. The rune warrior dodged, then pounced forward on all fours. Essence shone beneath his skin. He moved fast, racing up the rocky hill in great bounds, his body transforming. He became longer, more muscular, and lithe, twisting into the body of a large cat. Celaine sensed horror at the very sight of it. There was something wrong. This was putrid magic—the worst type. Dread filled her but she did not know why.
She pulled back an arrow, imbuing it with Power Shot. She breathed out as she loosed it. The rune warrior tried to dodge, but it found his back thigh. Essence exploded, flesh shattering as it exploded within, skin and fur flaying open and blood pouring from the wound. The giant cat beast snarled, essence pouring from the wound, runes rampaging across its body like liquid. It continued forward, unhindered by the wound.
It pounced, ten feet… twenty feet through the air, smashing into Hump’s Shield. Hump was shoved backward.
The other attackers circled around the hill trying to get out of her view. She loosed another arrow but the shield woman smashed it aside again, an infuriating grin on her face. The other three fell out of view, sheltered behind a jagged rock.
Celaine started to move, empowering her run with Spring Step as she raced to get around the back of them. Above, Hump’s spellbook was out now. There was a surge of essence. Fire exploded from the pages and Celaine guessed what was coming.
The rune warrior leapt forward, trying to stop it, but Celaine took aim and loosed an arrow. This one he didn’t see coming. It took him through the torso and sent him tumbling down the rocky outcrop to the side, falling out of view.
“Magma Pit.” A booming voice echoed through the hills and mountains, resonating with essence.
The ground rumbled. A whole opened beneath their feet, and searing heat exploded.
***
Hump ducked an arrow. From his point at the top of the outcrop, it was easy. When he poked his head out again, he’d lost sight of the shape shifter—Winston—after another of Celaine’s arrows had struck him.
Below, four men and women circled around the rocks as they climbed, sheltering behind a sheer section of rock. Hump had spotted two with shields and swords, one a large axe, and the last a bow. While their abilities were nothing special, they were still practitioners. They moved faster and had the strength to resist their attacks.
“Two behind us,” Rehk shouted.
That was all he needed to know. He couldn’t risk an attack on the flank. There was no way he’d be able to protect everyone and the horses. He pulled out his spellbook, the pages whirling, fire exploding from within as the runes of his stored spell erupted.
The air around him became scorching. Intense heat emanated from his staff’s focus as he aimed it at the rock where the four sought shelter. Essence surged through his book and to his staff. It shuddered in his grip, power he’d stored over days summoned all at once. It descended through the ground in a wave of fiery essence. The world shook. A chasm split the outcrop, the ground opening up beneath the feet of his attackers, bubbling lava raging within.
It was terrifyingly simple. A Tier 5 spell unveiled with little more than a thought and a few seconds. Not even Vivienne could accomplish such a feet, but his spellbook could, and the results were devastating. He focused it toward the attackers, trying not to let the spell grow too large and out of control. The power within fought against him, desperate to explode from the ground itself. If he let it, he thought half the outcrop might be taken with it.
One of the swordsmen screamed as he fell, hands and feet sinking below the surface. He shrieked, shrill and desperate, his writhing motions only spreading the fire across his body. A woman tried to reach him only for the pit to expand beneath them. She leapt back, their left foot charred black. She fell to the ground screaming, holding outstretched hands toward the wound in desperate agony.
The ground folded inward, rocks and boulders collapsing inside, leaving jagged cliffs around it. The final two fled, but one too slow, falling and catching himself on the edge. He scrambled upward, his sword and shield falling to the lava below, his left boot coming up melted. Hump forced himself not to let it get to him. Not to see them as people. Behind Hump, the horses let out panicked cries. The first’s screams slowly quietened, but the stench of their burning flesh filled the air. Even their sword melted to the intense heat. Despite his best efforts, Hump struggled to look away.
“Wha… what’s going on?” A groggy Walt asked, the spirit awoken from his sleep. “Oh gods! Watch out. One’s coming at you, kid! Look over there. Quick!”
Awoken from his gaze, Hump watched as Winston charged him. The runes across his body shifted again, the arrow bursting from its flesh, its wounds knitting themselves back together. His body shifted, melting away and reforming into a snake only a few feet long. An arrow struck the ground harmlessly beside him. His body coiled, then shot forward, hurling at Hump in a blur of green essence.
Hump threw his will into a Shield before him. Essence exploded into the air in a vibrant blue barrier—inefficient, but the suddenness called for it. As Winston approached, his body changed once more, morphing in the air and taking on the form of a gigantic white bear. He struck his just as it formed, the weight slamming Hump back and almost knocking him from his feet. Rehk was there to support him. Another arrow struck the shape shifter and he howled in pain and fury. Essence accompanied the sound, making Hump’s core shudder.
Behind him, Rehk fell backward, positioning herself in front of Tokdaar and Nishari.
With a snarling roar, Winston raked his claws across Hump’s Shield, carving three jagged wounds into the barrier and almost shattering it. It held—just. Hump threw more essence into it, channels of power forming a reinforcing criss-crossing pattern.
Saliva poured out between its teeth, its eyes wide, fixed on Hump’s spellbook. It breathed deeply, hungrily.
Its mouth twisted, becoming somewhere between man and beast. “Why does that book smell so good?”
“Old books always do,” Hump said.
“And why be such a creep about it? Oh no, he’ll eat me after the book!” Walt shouted. “Punch him. Kick him. Take him out, kid! Quick!”
Winston swung again, but this time Hump’s Shield stayed firm. Fear shot through Nishari’s bond and the shape shifter’s eyes went to her.
Winston’s hunger was visceral. It made Hump’s stomach churn. He was practically panting.
“A second feast for me,” he snarled.
Hump felt something strange in the air. It tugged at his skin, piercing him, seeking out his essence. Panic erupted in Nishari and Hump’s anxiety was washed away, replaced by anger.
“Shatter Shield,” he barked.
His spell fell away in an instant and Winston collapsed forward. Hump aimed directly at his face, gathering the residual essence in the air to him. “Essence Blast.”
The impact knocked Wiston back but only barely. He swayed forward, returning to all fours before trying to rise on his hind legs, his bear form towering over Hump.
Hump called forth his soul, the aura of a dragon surrounding him. The world took on a purple hue. Essence stormed toward him, and he claimed it, gathering it to his staff. Winston let out a deep, feral growl, watching him cautiously. His runes shifted across his body, essence moving beneath his skin.
Hump didn’t let him finish whatever it was he was doing.
“Fire Beam.”
The beam erupted, strucking Winston in his shoulder. It let loose a pained grunt as the force knocked him backward. He fell hard, toppling over rocks and the slope until he found ground below. He clawed his way up, his body melting once more, but not before another arrow found him. Another scream escaped him, voice changing as a fox with three tails emerged. He raced toward the forest, weaving as he ran to avoid Celaine’s barrage of arrows.
Hump glanced at the survivors below to find them with arrows in them. A woman with her shield was still alive, crawling on her back with an arrow through her stomach. Not a threat, he turned to check on the ones Rehk had warned about on the flank. Two more—a man and a woman, fleeing into the forest.
They’d won.
“Gods mercy, kid,” Walt muttered. “What did they feed you growing up?”
“How can you even see?” Hump asked. “You’re in my pocket.”
“Not sure,” Walt. “Wish I couldn’t though. That was awful!”
Hump ignored him, trying to push that thought from his mind and focus on the task at hand. They weren’t safe yet.
“Secure the horses,” Hump said. “Shout if anything comes up here. Nisha, with me.”
In his mind he sent an image of her on his shoulders, and the little dragon rushed forward, climbing him swiftly and settling against his neck. He wanted her close, just in case.
He made his way down the now destroyed slope carefully, holes left by his makeshift avalanche scarring what had once been an ancient rock formation. He passed the still boiling lava, eyes briefly stuck on the dead body within, burning fiercely, before he forced himself to look away.
Celaine approached from below, still surveying the surrounding woodland for their attackers.
“They’re running,” Celaine said. “I don’t think they’ll be back.”
“You okay?” Hump called.
“Uninjured, yes. You?”
“We’re all fine.”
Hump’s eyes turned to the woman crawling backward before him. She watched them fearfully, hand pressed against her stomach next to where the arrow struck. “Let me go. Please, I’m sorry.”
“Oh, now she’s sorry,” Walt snapped. “The nerve of people.”
“Who are you?” Hump asked. “I know you followed us here. We saw you on our trail.”
“Mercs. It’s nothing personal, really. Winston hired us. Said he was chasing something.”
“Something? Not someone?” Hump asked. “He was after us, no?”
“He didn’t know. The guy was a nutter. He said he was following his nose, whatever that means. Please, I can pay you. I’ll give you everything I have. Just let me go. I’m sorry.”
Hump thought on what Winston had said above. The hunger in his eyes at the sight of the Book of Infinite Pages, and then Nishari. He’d assumed it was the spellbook he’d wanted, but what if it was the heartstone within?
“We can’t let you go,” Celaine said. “That arrow’s pierced your intestines. You’ll die.”
The woman’s lip quivered but she held her chin up. “Then end me.”
Hump and Celaine glanced at each other. It didn’t feel right to kill a defeated foe, but what choice did they have in the Fallen Lands.
Celaine stepped forward, dagger drawn.
The woman fixed her gaze on her. “What—”
Celaine pierced her through the neck, severing the artery and spine. A few gurgles escaped the woman, and then nothing.
Hump couldn’t find words, taken back by the suddenness of it.
“May you find peace in death,” Celaine whispered, closing the woman’s eyes with her free hand. She wiped her dagger clean on the grass and stood.
She looked at him and titled her head. “What?”
“You just… surprised me.”
“Better a quick death than a slow one. She’d have done the same to us. Sounds like they were after your book.”
“Seems so,” Hump said. “Strange though. Winston didn’t seem to know what it was. He was just as interested in Nisha.”
“We won’t let that happen,” Celaine said angrily. She stepped past him, climbing the hill. “I’ll get the horses. We should move—our fight will have drawn attention.”
“Right.” Hump nodded. He stared at the fallen woman, then glanced around at her dead companions. Six by his count.
“It was you or them, kid,” Walt said. “Best not to think about it.”
Hump had killed before. It bothered him, but not that much. It was the ease at which they’d died that bothered him. These were practiced professionals, and reasonably strong ones at that, yet there was nothing they could do in the face of him and Celaine. To have such strength at his fingertips… it didn’t feel right to take life so easily.
“Better them than me,” was all he could think to say.
