It had finally happened. I was sitting on the top of my tower watching the sunset with a disgruntled frown as I looked down into my cup. I should have expected it. It was truly only a matter of time. Perhaps it was the season, or perhaps it was my own choices, but it was still quite disheartening. I swirled the wine in my cup and sighed as I watched it spin. I had grown tired of strawberry wine. The novelty had just worn off. Given that I’d been drinking only strawberry wine for nearly two months, I should have been more prepared for this day to come. Worse, it was the most common wine on the market this season. All the others I would drink in its stead were out of stock. Or so the merchant said. I could go into Lark to verify his words. I could also send someone that way, traffic between the town and my tower had been increasing now with the presence of the refugees. More and more seemed to be coming to start a new life in Kine’s village. I glanced over, noting that they were having some kind of celebration with lots of fire and loud screams on the southern part of the village. I didn’t mind. They had so little to celebrate that I wouldn’t belittle what they did have. A night of fun would likely help their morale and make building the village go faster. The faster it was built, the sooner they would settle down into a regular lifestyle that would impact me less. “Sir,” Tond said as he came to stand beside me to look out at the village. I grimaced through another sip of wine before glancing his way. “Are you going to do something about that?” he asked and nodded out towards the fires. “Hmm,” I thought about whether or not to reveal my thoughts to the man before answering, “Would you like to join them?” His mouth twisted into a painful mockery of a grin, “I fear it might go out of control if left alone.” I waved him away, “Very well. See to it, and take whoever you feel will help you.” I was still sitting on the roof an hour later. The sun had long set, but I hadn’t finished my one glass of strawberry wine. I looked at it hesitantly, not wanting to waste it but not wanting to drink it either. That was when I noticed an explosion of fire from the village that attracted my attention. Startled, I stood up and walked to the edge of my tower. I had to squint to get a better look, but it appeared what I thought was a celebration was actually a battle. I called for my wind elementals to take me closer, the gargoyles also taking flight alongside me. As we approached, I saw the villagers fighting with axe and spade against a swarm of spiders. Behind the swarm stood the massive fourth-tier spider from the edge of the bog. Maybe it was a fifth-tier beast. It was so large, now that it was outside its lair that I could see its legs would stretch around my tower if it came that close. In the back of my mind, I knew that I was at fault. Two years ago, I had decided to list a quest at the adventurers’ guild for its slaying, with the intent to do so myself if no one was successful. Yet my focus on the Pestilence had caused me to forget. I would need to spend a few days in thought to ensure it was the only thing I had put aside that I should have dealt with. In fact, I was so upset at having forgotten, I might have just slung the rest of my wine out of the cup! Beneath me, I saw the villagers fighting behind a makeshift wall of stone and wood that did absolutely nothing to stop the spiders from attacking. The smell of bog water and insects and blood carried on the wind. Tond stood atop a mound further back launching arrows that exploded in bursts of fire and lightning. Eni was fighting at the fore, surrounded by a pack of monsterized wolves that must have counted nearly fifty. Kine stood atop of the foundation stone of what would one day be the center building of the village lobbing huge stones overhead like a catapult. I realized that even these fighters wouldn't be enough to stop the horde, so where were my elementals? The mud elementals were likely still in my lake, but the water and mist elementals should have joined the defense. Regardless, I should do something now and look into them later. With this in mind, I sent my gargoyles to scythe through the horde and focused on the mother spider. Unfortunately, half the spells that came to mind were too destructive for the circumstances. A [Tempest] or [Firestorm] would hurt just as many villagers as it helped. I regretted that I didn’t stop by my room to pick up my warstaff, as my options would have been multiplied. I closed my eyes and calmed my mind. The sounds of fighting and the battle below had influenced me with a sense of urgency, but the right spell in the right moment would do far more to benefit them all. I reached out my left hand towards the mother spider, where most of the horde lay, and lifted the other into the air. I curled the fingers in my left hand as I cast a [Chain Lightning], while above my right hand a ball of clear ice began to form. The lightning struck quickly, and spread even faster through the bog water than normal. The smaller spiders near where it hit were killed in an instant, and the rest twitched and convulsed. Even the mother spider lifted its front four legs up into the sky and let out a hiss of pain. I waited as the ice formed until it lowered its legs back to the ground before casting my second spell. [Frozen Ground] wasn’t a widely used spell because it caused so little damage. It was most frequently used by warmages to freeze a river to allow troops to walk over. In an open field, it would cause the ground to ice over and feet to stick to the ground. Good at stopping a charge if cast at the right moment, but otherwise not a spell with frequent use. Why slow an enemy when you could kill them for the same mana cost was the mentality. Here, though, it saw a great effect as the ball of ice landed and split apart, the bog waters froze over like a pond in winter. I watched in satisfaction as the ice spread across the waters trapping and freezing spiders by the dozen. Eni’s wolves went wild as they ran across the ice, and the villagers cheered to see that beyond the spiders still fighting the rest of the horde was stuck in place. I allowed myself a small smile, but that was the moment I was attacked. From the trees beyond the village and the bog dozens of arrows arced towards me. I had an instant to move, but I knew those same arrows would hit the people below if I did. Instead, I commanded the wind to circle around me, knocking them from the sky. Most were blocked in that fashion, but one kept flying true. No doubt a skill from some type of higher tier archer was in use, but I wasn’t without defense. Guardian wards placed decades ago sprung to life to block the arrow. A shield of shimmering blue magic stopped it in midair. A burst of blue lightning sprung forth from the shield back towards the thick canopy hiding the assassins, a retribution well earned. It landed with a flash and an explosion that knocked trees aside. I turned back towards the mother spider, wondering if perhaps it was lured here instead of simply hunting. This night had become more complex than I desired, and I was already annoyed by the lack of options for my wine. I cast four [Chain Lightning] spells in quick succession that blasted into the mother spider. I wasn’t certain it was dead, but with only two legs left, I didn’t think it was much of a threat any longer. When I flew towards the woods to see if more assassins lay in wait, I only found the smoldering corpses of slain killers. I glanced at the moon overhead, trying to determine how late in the evening I had stayed awake playing with monsters and men, but it was too cloudy to tell. I glanced back at the cheering villagers who still slaughtered trapped spiders, the fearful wives and children peaking out of doorways and tents, and decided I’d helped enough for one night. They would wake me if this wasn’t the end of the battle. Hopefully, they’d wake me with a cup of plum wine. Or pear brandy. This had turned out to be a rather poor evening and I could only hope that tomorrow would see improvement.