383 days until the Arkon Shield falls

2 days, 15 hours until Dungeon Purge

Dear Wysterl,

The gnomish council deems your excuses unacceptable. If anything, your report has only deepened our alarm. If the Human Dominion is as rich in resources as your analysis suggests, it makes your project that much more critical.

Get the project back on schedule, or someone more suitable will be found to replace you. —Guildmaster Curalox de Merocn.

I braced my back against the outcropping and closed my eyes. My pulse was still racing, and my body was sore and tender. Stifling a groan, I queried the core within me and took stock of myself.

Just over half my health was gone.

I winced unhappily. I hadn’t realized how badly I had been hurt. During the battle, dragonfire and adrenaline had blocked out much of the pain and shielded me from the full extent of the damage I had sustained.

Next time, don’t ignore the Trial messages, Jamie, I admonished and set about mending my injuries.

Long minutes passed while I restored myself with lay hands. I stayed alert the whole time, but to my relief, the attacks from above had abated, and no pursuit ensued. It was at least one positive I could draw from the battle. The elementals didn’t appear willing—or able—to follow me.

Is it because it lost track of me? I wondered. The creature had seemed to have trouble spotting me. Whatever the case, the temporary cessation of hostilities was welcome. Once my wounds had been tended to, I turned my focus inwards and checked the waiting messages.

You have successfully attacked a hostile entity from hiding. Your skill in sneaking has advanced to level 3.

You have partially resisted the magical effects of an ice elemental’s attacks. Your elemental resistance has increased to level 3.

“Well,” I murmured. The advancement of my elemental resistance was the second bit of good news. It was the only Attribute I had yet been unable to train.

So, being the elemental’s punching bag was not entirely without benefits, I thought with a wry smile. Of course, despite the improvements the attacks had yielded, I couldn’t willingly let myself be hit again.

By my count, only five ice shards had struck me during the encounter. But those five projectiles alone had wiped out half my health. My smile faded.

It was clear I couldn’t sustain another drawn-out confrontation with the ice elemental, at least not in the same manner I just had. I needed to find another way to reduce the damage the creature’s shards inflicted. Or better yet, a means to avoid them altogether.

How though?

I could try using the island’s rocky outcroppings for protection, but I had already meticulously searched the island. The top of the rock spur I had been perched on was one of the few places from which I could attack a tower guard while remaining out of its fellows’ sights. All the other spots I had found were similarly exposed too.

If I can’t find an obstacle to hide behind, how else can I stop the shards from hitting me?

I need a shield, I decided.

A physical one would likely do me no good. A significant component of the shards’ damage had been magical. I bowed my head and studied the Focus in my hands. In the heat of battle, flaring along the staff’s entire length had seemed the best way to counter the elemental’s assault, but it had only been a stopgap measure—the flames had been inefficient and somewhat porous.

Can I spellcraft a dragonfire shield?

Not a true shield spell, like the one Kagan had used—that I was sure was still beyond my skill—but something that mimicked a physical shield, a small, moveable casting that I could wield in one hand.

Only one way to find out, I thought.

✽✽✽

Slipping away from the outcropping, I searched out one of the island’s many recesses and ducked inside. Sitting down and making myself comfortable, I drew mana into my mind.

Where to begin?

The wall of fire I had used earlier gave me a workable concept to start from. What I needed to do now was refine the idea. Instead of using wild, uncontrolled flames to stop the shards, I had to create a mesh of dragonfire so finely interwoven that no part of an ice shard—or any other magical projectile for that matter—could penetrate it.

In essence, I had to create a shield of dragonfire. The flare spell itself was too unrefined—not to mention inefficient—for such a spellcrafting, but restrained flare… perhaps it would serve.

Forming the spell construct of restrained flare in my mind, I imagined the focused beam of fire I had used to smelt the murluk spearheads. Then I refined the jet of fire further, splitting it into finer and finer filaments until the image I held in my mind was that of a strand of dragonfire as slim as silk.

Borrowing inspiration from the spider queen, I began weaving the dragonfire strands into a webbed pattern, but one far more closely interlocked. I started at the center, and step by step expanded my crafting outwards.

Slowly, the new spell construct took shape in my mind. It was a more complex undertaking than I had ever attempted before. The crafting consisted of multiple spellforms layered atop one another and so closely woven together that to the casual observer’s magesight, the individual weaves were indistinguishable from each other.

I expanded the entire intricate mesh as large as I felt capable of imagining, then probed it for weak spots, strengthening and hardening the weaves where necessary. Finally, when I was satisfied, I breathed lifeblood and mana into my creation and willed it into being.

Luminous gold mana seeped out of my mind and down my left arm. The air around my forearm turned hazy as fine filaments of dragonfire transformed the pattern in my mind into reality.

I held my breath in sudden trepidation, waiting to see if the spellform would hold or collapse under its own weight. The haze in the air turned brighter as more dragonfire grew out of my arm.

The strands of fire spun faster.

The air grew hotter.

I blinked back tears and wiped away droplets of sweat from my forehead. On and on, the spellcasting continued until finally, the final weave snapped into place. The air cooled instantly, and my left arm dropped as a sudden new weight pushed down on it.

I blinked. There was something attached to my arm… a rock-like growth, roughly circular in shape and glowing the dull-red of a banked forge.

Whatever the thing on my arm was, it was not at all what I had expected. I had been envisioning a disk of fire, not a rock shield!

Tentatively, I reached out to the strange object with the fingers of my right hand. But before I could touch it, an avalanche of Trials messages scrolled down my vision.

I paused and turned my attention to the alerts.

You have spellcrafted a caster-only spell from the Discipline of dragon magic. The name assigned to this spell is magma buckler. Magma buckler is a single-cast spell that attaches a magical disk to one of the caster’s arms. The shield can block a finite amount of damage before its weaves unravel. It will dissipate if removed from direct contact with the caster. Its casting time is average, and its rank is rare.

You are the first player to have spellcrafted the dragon spell magma buckler. For this achievement, you have been awarded dragon lore and six Marks.

Lore note: Few dragons bother learning partial shield spells. Dragonhide itself is naturally resistant to most forms of magical damage. When unable to cast a whole-body personal protective shield, a dragon will usually rely on its armored hide instead of wielding a clumsy hand-held shield.

I stared down at my arm in bemusement. So, despite the strange appearance of my new shield, it seemed that I had achieved my objective.

Flexing my left arm, I studied the magma buckler anew. The shield extended from the tips of my fingers to my elbow, covering the entirety of my left forearm. It was heavy too and still glowed a dull red. And now that I knew the spell’s name, the shield did appear to have been crafted from cooled magma. Interesting.

Raising my arm, I peered under the buckler. There was nothing affixing it to me. Huh. It really seemed as if the thing had grown from my arm.

I perused the lore note accompanying the spell again. The most interesting information wasn’t that the magma buckler was a rare spell or that I had gained six Marks from its creation. No, the most intriguing aspect was the bit about dragons not needing such shields in the first place.

Dragonhide, I mused. So far, all my spellcrafting in the Discipline of dragon magic had revolved around the use of dragonfire, but now I had an inkling of something else to try… dragonhide.

I rose to my feet. Now though, was not the time for further magic experiments.

I had an ice elemental to kill. And it was time I set about it.

✽✽✽

I climbed up the back of the rock spur again. While awkward to handle, the magma buckler did not hamper my movements as much as I feared, and I managed the climb without too much effort.

Reaching the top, I pulled myself up onto the rock spur but stayed flat while I took stock. The ice elemental hadn’t resumed its slow patrol atop the tower. Remaining pressed up against the ramparts, it continued to search the area for me.

It didn’t spot me.

The creature’s eyesight must be poor indeed, I thought. Remaining on all fours, I crawled along the top of the rock spur. When I was in position, I rose to a wary crouch and braced the magma buckler in front of me. But even with me huddled small and on bended knee, it failed to cover me entirely. Still, I hoped it would provide me enough protection to stave off most of the elemental’s attacks.

Raising my head, I peeked over the top edge of the shield and swung around my staff until the black rod wedged against the side of the buckler. My gaze was fixed on my target, and my Focus was pointed squarely at its head.

It was time to begin.

Exhaling a slow, careful breath, I sent dragonfire rippling down the Focus. A ray of gold burnt through the air and struck my mark dead center.

The elemental was rocked backward as the scorching flames ate at its head. The creature took only a moment to recover, though. Whipping its head in my direction, the tower guard raised its arms.

Ignoring the incipient attack, I hurled another fire ray at my foe. A chunk of ice broke off from the elemental’s shoulder.

I hit it again. More ice vaporized from the creature’s torso.

The elemental’s arms locked into position and ice shards rippled down its shoulder and out towards me. I ducked my head below the buckler and waited.

Now I would find out how well my new spell performed.

Twin jets of ice smashed into the magma buckler. The momentum of the attack pushed hard at me, but I was braced for the onslaught and didn’t budge. The shield held. No ice penetrated its solid surface.

I smiled. It worked! The torrent of ice pouring down from above didn’t let up, but confident now of my protections, I was ready to resume my own attacks.

Ignoring the splinters of ice ricocheting off the rocky ground underfoot, I peered over my shield and cast fire ray again. More dragonfire seared the elemental.

The creature moaned, its voice echoing eerily over the storm-swept landscape. An ice shard bounced off the edge of my shield and clipped my arm. Ignoring the impact, I kept up my attacks.

Under the repeated hits of dragonfire, the elemental staggered backward again. This time instead of trying to resume its assault, the creature raised its arms protectively.

I grinned. Finally, my foe was on the backfoot. Encouraged by my success, I stepped up the tempo of my attacks and battered the elemental with a near-incessant stream of dragonfire.

It proved too much for the creature.

The elemental crumpled with a last wail, the blocks of ice forming its body falling to a lifeless heap on the ground. I lowered my staff and rose to my feet, a pleased grin plastered on my face.

I had won.

✽✽✽

Staring up into the still-falling rain, I read the messages scrolling through my mind.

You have gained in experience and are now a level 29 Trainee. Your elemental resistance has increased to level 4.

My grin widened. Two levels. Not as much as I had gained from defeating the spider queen, but still more than I had any right to expect.

And what’s more, I have many more elementals to kill. A thrill of exhilaration went through me at the thought. At this rate, I would reach Seasoned rank in no time! With some effort, I reined in my excitement.

Let’s not get ahead of yourself just yet, Jamie. You’ve barely slain one creature so far. There’s no telling if the other fights will go this well. And I couldn’t forget I was on a time limit too. Still, things were looking up.

If only you didn’t have orcs waiting for you when you leave.

At the memory of the orcs, some of my good humor evaporated, but resolutely I brushed away further thoughts of the orcs. There would be time aplenty to worry about them later.

Sitting down, I inspected my magma buckler. Its surface was pockmarked and cracked. The shield had rebuffed the elemental’s attacks, but not without withstanding significant damage itself.

It was not unexpected, given the spell’s description. Still, it meant I needed to be wary in future encounters, lest my buckler failed mid-battle. As it was, I could not use the shield again in its present state.

Opening my magesight, I reached out to the buckler’s spell construct and unraveled its weaves, then watched in bemusement as the oh-so-solid-looking shield disappeared.

After that, I reformed the shield and restored my lost health. Armed with a new buckler, I dropped down from the rock spur and went off in search of my next target.

I had three more ice elementals to kill.