The first thing I did was gather several large-sized gemstones from the hidden places within my stores. Gemstones the size of my head, which only fit through the opening to my bag of holding with some difficulty. With these, I would be able to summon fourth-tier elementals. Several handfuls of the smaller gemstone types made it in as well. Next, I remade the trap pits in my shallow lake. If this wave came from the same direction as the last one, then these pits would catch more experimental subjects. I delighted at the prospect of elemental animals. Mostly the ice foxes. Stone beetles weren’t all too common in the dungeons throughout the kingdom, but common enough that I had experimented on them before. Ice foxes would be new. While making the pits, I had time to think. I felt it was unusual that harpies were part of this wave. The other creatures were beasts. Monsterized animals. But harpies were different. There was no animal equivalent that I was aware of for them. Still, I didn’t know everything. What was on the other side of the mountains had been a mystery before the kingdom existed. It was dusk when I finished with my new pits. The sun was setting, and the reflection on the water wasn’t as pleasant when I was so close to it. I also didn’t like that the pits marred my view of the reflection again, but that was only temporary. This time, I already had an area established. These pits wouldn't be here for long. From within my bag of holding, I drew forth a large sapphire, the weight of it heavy in my hands. I thrust my mind through the gem, sending a plea to the Queen of Waters. I pictured a great serpent made from the water itself, two sharp triangular fins behind its head. A long, coiling body that ended in a sharp-bladed tail. I pictured it rising from the bog to defend the tower, with sharp teeth that cleaved through flesh. I pictured it coiled around a giant bear and squeezing the life from it. I pictured obedience to my commands, and loyal service to me. I used [Water Manipulation] to pull forth clear water from mud, and watched as the form started to take shape. From within, it looked to be a worm or snake of clear, clean water that grew larger with every heartbeat. Soon the serpent I had pictured was floating on the water before me. I communicated the same orders I had given to the other elementals. Who I allowed passage and who should not be harmed. To stay in the assigned area. The fourth-tier elemental was much smarter than the others and understood quickly. It circled me once and then jumped further into my bog. It left only one small ripple as it went. More sapphires were withdrawn, twelve altogether. Small gems, though, only the size of my finger. With each, I summoned more mist elementals, like the ones within my moat. These, I ordered to patrol the waters and confuse interlopers. A thicker mist soon intermingled with what already floated above the waters. The elementals moving in strange and unusual ways. I smiled to myself and allowed them to move beyond the lake and into the bog for several miles around my tower. Those who didn’t come along the road would surely find themselves in peril. My mana was beginning to run low; the summoning costs were high. That wouldn’t stop me, though. Instead, I moved back to my tower, headed for the roof. It was there that I would summon my next elementals. Chelsea awaited me as soon as I entered, a plate of food warming by the fireplace. Goat sausage again. Though sliced this time and added to a mixture of root vegetables with a spicy seasoning. It wasn’t my favorite meal, but it was warm and hearty. I finished without a word and continued to the top of my tower. There, Eni was on watch, and I sent him to fetch some of the iron weapons and supplies salvaged from the assassins. While he was gone, I checked the moonstone, which was more than three-quarters full. More than enough to ensure my tower couldn’t be scryed upon. When he returned with a bundle of weapons, hooks, buckles, and assorted other iron things, I got to work. His owl was the basis I used, a living example. The extra stone taken from the newer basement rooms was available. I used my [Earth Manipulation] on a small portion of it to begin constructing four stone owls. While I had five large emeralds, I only had nine medium-sized topaz. For what I wanted, I would use two topaz for every one emerald. As the owls took shape, I used the iron to mold into their claws and beaks. It would rust in time, certainly. For now, it shined under the moonlight. Each owl was four feet tall and beautifully sculpted. The other gargoyles I’d seen made were often grotesque in appearance. Something to inspire fear in battle. I had no desire for that, I wanted everything I crafted to look magnificent. First, the emeralds, fourth-tier earth elementals giving life to the owls. The iron clanged as they snapped their beaks and hopped around. Their stone wings smacked against their sides. Next, I summoned third-tier wind elementals, one for each wing. Wind elementals subordinated to the earth. It was a command they expressed dislike of, but not outright rejected. The topaz that held their connection, I used for each eye. The emeralds, I hid within the stone roof of the tower, along with the sapphires from the water elementals. I gave orders to my new summons, to take a corner each and defend the tower from the air. Similar orders to the other elementals, but these I didn’t want to move at all unless they were defending. The earth elementals took to the order with ease. The wind ones again expressing their displeasure. This time it took shape with a wing moving ever so slightly like the owls were adjusting themselves. I was considering what to do with the last large emerald when Eni’s voice called to me. “Sir?” I turned my attention his way, “Yes?” “Those things. The, uh—” His owl, fluttered onto his shoulder. “Gargoyles,” I informed him. “Those gargoyles, are they, um, safe to ride?” He asked with a curiosity in his eyes I hadn’t seen before. He couldn’t stop himself from glancing at the creatures every few seconds. I considered the matter for a moment. Of course, they were safe to ride. They were under my command absolutely. They were large enough. The extra weight would be meaningless to the elementals within. The true question was, did I want him to ride one? And that answer was, “No. I don’t imagine so.” He looked disappointed but didn’t ask anything further. Not that I wanted him to. Instead, I returned to considering what I wanted for the final large emerald. A guardian for the front door seemed to be my best idea so far. Something that looked to be an elaborate entryway that could come alive to defend me. The question was, how did I want it to look? I didn't want anything I had already done. So not a serpent. Or an owl. No lizard or mouse. I didn’t like the idea of a giant man, either. Nor a giant jaw, though the threat of one would be interesting. Watching people look up at sharp teeth in fear every time they walked into my tower? That idea brought a smirk to my face. But, it wasn’t beautiful. Or ornate. Eni watched me warily as I began to pace, but I ignored him. I could make a beautifully shaped stallion, but if I did, then I would want one for each side of the doorway. When Tond came to replace Eni, I glanced at the moon. It was well into the night, and perhaps tomorrow the idea would come to me. Now that my moonstone was in effect, someone would need to see my tower with their own eyes to tell that fourth-tier summons guarded my home. It could wait, as this was more than enough to deal with a beastwave. I knew I should take myself to bed, but my desire to summon was great. Just one more. I had a medium-sized piece of yellow amber. I was surprised to have found it, thinking I used it in a past experiment. Amber wasn’t a gemstone like the others, that much I knew. It didn’t respond to [Earth Manipulation] like the other gems. Many said it to be blood from an ancient tree, but I suspected its origins were closer to dragons. Ear wax, perhaps? Dragon humours were mysterious, and even the oldest history books only held suppositions on the topic. But how else would I be able to connect to the Plane of Nature, if there were no connection? As I laid the piece of amber at the base the ivy grew from, I reached through it to connect to the Plane of Nature. My appeal was answered quickly by a fifth-tier elemental. The elementals on this plane did not allow their lord disturbed. What do you want, elf? A seductive woman’s voice came to me, one that sounded like the gentle song of a bird. It sent shudders down my spine and spoke to my wood-elf half. As if I had heard from a long-lost lover, it touched on a reminiscence that wasn’t truly there. My willpower held firm, and I answered with the projected thought of my ivy come to life. It whipped and strangled attackers. Bloomed in beautiful flowers. Reached and lifted pots and rocks. Of obedience and loyalty. The response was a peal of light laughter like tiny bells jingling. My little sister I shall send. Treat her well. The connection went silent after that, and I felt the drops of sweat run down my back. Nature elementals were some of the most intelligent of the elementals. Or rather, their intelligence was closest to mine in the way they thought. Except they were tricky, and often couldn’t be trusted. I watched as a woman’s face appeared among the vines. A beautiful face with elven ears, and green eyes that darted around. A third-tier elemental, but that I expected. Oh! You care for our children! It called into my mind, as a flock of wisps escaped the confines of the floating mist elementals. They danced through the air to hover around the face, and a hand of ivy reached out to them. I was considering eliminating the new elemental when her hand pulled back. The eyes on the woman’s face turned towards me, and the lips creased upwards in a happy smile. As long as you care for the little ones, I will serve. Arrogance. If she didn't serve, I would simply summon another. I gave her orders, the same as the other elementals, and departed. If she truly served, I would keep her. But I would test her to be sure. I just wasn’t sure how yet. Another consideration for tomorrow. The moon was high, and I could see the early rays of the morning on the horizon. It was past time for sleep. It was midmorning when a guard woke me. The beastwave was here. With a cup of tea and a platter of fried eggs, I went to sit on a bench on my rooftop. Beside me, all the guards stood ready. Below, the beasts and monsters filled the trees across the lake. Harpies were ugly things with the torsos of women, wings for arms, and clawed legs. They perched on branches next to condors of great size. Stone beetles crawled in and out of bushes and up and down tree trunks. White foxes, the size of wolves, sniffed at the water’s edge. Mist rolled off of them in plumes and added a chill to the air. The numbers seemed off, with many more harpies and condors than the other animals. I took a bite of the eggs, they tasted bland but we had a surplus that needed to be eaten. The creatures in this wave were all mountainous. Considering the first wave, and then this one, it seemed to me as if something were on the other side of the mountains. Something that could scare these things this way. That made me curious. But not curious enough to investigate myself. I had no death wish. No one came back from over the mountains. Not even before these beast waves. I considered briefly the idea of a quest but dismissed it. A bear, hidden, roared. Birds and harpies took flight. Beetles buzzed their wings and flitted low over the waters. Foxes pounced and swam. Like the wolves before them, the mud clung to white fur. White splotched with brown. In the waters, my mud elementals attacked first. Branch-like arms swiped beetles down. Stone beetles. The beasts sunk like rocks. Foxes bared their teeth and jumped, only to be trapped in muddy bodies. But the beasts were many. There were only four of the mud elementals. I watched as many more monsters made it past them. I took another few bites. Even bland, the eggs still tasted good. While the beasts crossed the center of the lake, my owls took flight. They fell fast, almost too fast. A straight fall from the ledge. Until the wind lifted their wings. Harpies shrieked in rage. Condors' piecing cries echoed across churning water. My owls were only silent in return. The four gargoyles met the horde and were swarmed. Like bees around a nest, their enemies struck. But the attacks did no damage against tough stone bodies. Iron beaks and claws met flesh and monsters fell. But like the mud elementals, the owls were only four against many. In the center of my lake, ice foxes fell into the trap pits. Beetles fell inside as well but flew their way out on unsteady wings. My water elemental jumped into the air. A single splash of water would knock down hundreds of buzzing beetles. Stone beetles that sank and drowned. It made short work of many. I watched satisfied as my pits filled up and beetles fell, then turned my eyes back to the skies. Most of the high-flying attackers were past my owls. But they didn’t make it to the rooftop. They tried. Hundreds upon hundreds tried only to be battered away by my air elementals. I was glad I had summoned so many. I could see the air as it whipped around my rooftop like a cyclone. A globe of shielding wind. Feathers tore from broken wings, caught in the funnel. I sat my empty plate aside and sipped the last of my tea, glad to have finished before the attackers got too close. I watched for another moment as the flying monsters flung themselves at my defenses. None came close to breaking through the wind barrier. The feathers and blood caught in it darkened the cyclone and made the sun seem overcast. Many flyers turned back, only to receive death from iron claws instead. The beetles made it over the wall but met a slaughter. The elementals in my moat were unrelenting. The foxes didn’t even succeed with that, their paws uselessly clawed at the stone. Their tiny yelps of anger and frustration created an undertone to the sounds of battle. I was tired and ready to return to bed. A few hours asleep wasn’t enough. Harpies smelled awful. Beetles smelled worse. I had seen enough to be satisfied. It was time to end this. With a cast of [Chain Lightning], I dispersed the flock of harpies and condors. The few that remained alive turned to flee, and I ignored them. Thousands of winged bodies already littered the ground. In response to my spell, a bear roared and burst from the woods. A giant creature, almost a third as tall as my tower when on all fours. Shaggy fur of brown and grey hung from its body. Along its side, a long gash was torn open revealing the muscle and bone beneath. Blood dripped and clouded the waters at its feet. A fourth-tier beast. An angry one. My mud elementals tried to trap it in long clinging arms of mud, but it shook them off. A single swipe cleared three, their forms splashed across the waters to reform slowly. A bite downed the fourth. I saw my water elemental race forward. Its form arced above and below the waters. The bear saw it and roared again, as it lifted itself up on its hind legs. Clawed arms held high over its head. With such a large target, how could I not? A [Lightning Bolt] flashed from my hand. With a crack, it hit the chest of the beast. Not even an eyeblink’s time between the two. But the bear lived. I thought it might, but my attack was more a response to an annoyance than an attempt to kill. It was already wounded badly. It wouldn’t last long regardless of what I did. The furred chest rose and fell, scorched. Smoke whispered away. Its eyes glared hatred at me from below. And with its eyes on me, it didn’t see my water elemental’s tail rise and pierce the chest in the same spot I struck. The rest of the serpent quickly followed. It coiled around the bear to try to drag in under the shallow waters. Instead, they both fell back. The bear hacked blood and grunted. The serpent twisted and tightened. The horde dispersed, what remained of it. Only a few dozen creatures headed towards Woodhoot. My assistants would have no problem with that. Though my elemental still tangled with the bear, I didn’t wait to watch. My bed called to me and I sought its comfort. The sooner I slept, the sooner I would wake. “Have a good morning, gentlemen. Wake me for lunch,” I bid farewell to my three guards whose eyes still stared at the carnage outside. They didn’t respond, and I was too tired to repeat myself. I shouldn’t have stayed up so late. My nature elemental didn’t even see any battle. The four gargoyles weren’t as effective against the flyers as I’d hoped. There were too many enemies for them to stop. A fourth-tier earth elemental would be a real challenge for a third-tier adventurer party. A flying one should be a challenge against a party of fourth-tier adventurers. Four should be more than enough. And they were, but this wasn’t the best enemy to use them against. It was with these thoughts, that I fell asleep.