The blue eyed mage watched from the bushes as the older mage speared his summoned doppelganger through the throat. He had debated whether or not to even show up, or if he should attempt to fool him. In the end he had used his familiar to fool the old man, it was a real risk, because if the old man had attempted to use any identification spells the doppelganger wouldn’t be able to fool them.

The doppelganger was quite a low level at only 12, but it had a strangely high water affinity. The old man used the doppelganger's blood to activate the portal, the mage inhaled sharply and held the breath. If the doppelganger didn’t have enough mana in its blood to mimic that of mage blood then the activation wouldn’t work and his ruse would be ruined.

He sighed in relief as he watched the portals flare to life and activate. The old man left with his host of warriors and the blue eyed mage exited from the shrubbery he had hidden himself in. He got a good look at the doppelganger familiar as its shapeshifting reverted in death. The skin darkened to a deep burnt purple, and the face elongated and smoothed out leaving no mouth, nose, or eyes. The body shrunk slightly, and the limbs extended and became more spindly.

He shook his head at the waste of such a good familiar, he had told the old man when he was breaking it that the torture proved too much for the frail monster. When in reality he had bound its soul using his [Intermediate - Rank IV] - [Monster Tamer] ability. After he had bound the creature instead of breaking its will and bringing it to his leader, he had used its powers of shapeshifting to fake its own death.

He had brought it over to the reject pile, the smell of decay cloying in the air, and dropped its limp ‘corpse’, covered in fake and real wounds, onto the pile for all to see. Later on the next day, it’s corpse would miraculously disappear. No one missed the dead creature in a pile of dead creatures, and the youngest mage had made off with a brand new familiar. However short lived as it was.

He turned away from the dead monster, truly dead this time, and looked around the clearing. The old man must have been growing rusty to think that a single earth spear could take a level 50 [Frost Mage] by surprise. He shook his head thinking back on the way his companion was speared through the neck, if the fool had just taken the time to think rationally none of that would have happened.

The mage stood alone in the clearing, wondering at where he should go. He couldn’t go back to the Gazzril Empire, the old mage had probably already spun some story of false treachery and given it to the king. If he was seen there then his life would end shortly. He thought deeply, stroking a non existent beard, the Gazzril Empire was a marauding one. They had achieved a massive force of more mundane units but they also utilized a secret summoning ritual to summon high affinity creatures.

Their military might was second to none, and they had reached the top through bloodshed and conquest. Nearly every country that bordered the Gazzril Empire was under it’s rule, officially or not. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, he could go to a small town or village and lay low, but that didn’t appeal to the mage. There weren’t many places that were free of the Empire’s rule, and nearly all that were against it, were also fighting it one way or another.

He didn’t feel like getting involved in any ill fated rebellions, so that was out. The mage grew tired of thinking, there was no need to stress about what to do next, not yet at least. Decided on a more simple course of action, the young mage set off into the forest, towards where he thought the road lay.

Nearly two miles away, a group of three massive men clad in silver and white armor walked steadily. They were accompanied by a man in nothing but rags, his body split and torn. Contrary to his depressive state, the man in question was prattling on endlessly. The paladins had long ago grown weary of his incessant chattering, but they indulged the poor man, at their leader's orders, ‘We are glorious paladins! Defenders of the weak, and saviours of the poor! We can let this poor soul speak as long as he wished.’ he had said.

Though they followed the order, one of the paladins ground his teeth and fingered the hilt of his broadsword. The paladins had introduced themselves to the man, though they were in serious doubt he had paid attention, as he just called them by his own names. The green eyed leader was Nick, the only one to receive a name befitting of their status. The second in commands was named Blondy, for his long blond hair, the man currently wishing he was allowed to stab him was dubbed Scowl-o, the other three didn’t stay around long enough to receive a name.

The three nameless paladins had went ahead down the dirt path, that lied and called itself a road, towards the nearest settlement. The village in question was a small place composed of a dozen or so thatch roofed, mud brick homes with small farms out in the back. There was a general store made from rickety wood, boarded together into the facsimile of a shop. The building were arrayed haphazardly in a lush section of meadow near the border of the woods.

The paladins that had gone ahead were sent to try to obtain lodgings and see if there was a resident [Healer] in the village. The chances of a class like [Healer] being in such a small place was slim, but any chance was worth taking. The paladins couldn’t heal the injured man, as his injuries were not unholy in nature, and none of the paladins had a healing subclass. Most paladins focused on offensive skills and skills to buff and protect. They excelled in either stopping you from getting hurt, or killing whatever was going to hurt you, they also dabbled in the occasional holy smiting.

They had used their medical supplies to bandage the ragged man, he had bandages covering him from the neck down. Aasari have pity on the man who bandaged his pelvic area. They had tried to find the man’s eye, but were unable to. They also offered to bandage the empty socket, but the man had responded with, “I won’t be able to look for my eye if you blind me.” they had assured him they would only bandage the one, but he was adamant on that fact.

The sun was lowering itself in the sky and the light filtering in through the leaves above was becoming scarce. Nick saw a small clearing surrounded on its sides by boulders. The clearing was empty except for grass and several herbs that favored the dark forest, the paladins had to be wary of wolves and other predators moving through the forest road but they were trained professionals and they had honed their battle senses.

“Come my brothers in arms! Rest is but a few yards away, we shall survive this battle yet!” Nick called out victoriously. Blondy and Scowl-o rolled their eyes at their over excited leader, their legs were sore and there eyes filled with grit. Both of them wished with all their hearts they could have been the ones to go ahead to the village, they didn’t want to waste time slogging behind with the slow bandaged man.

“Quiet down. There’s no need to be so loud.” Scowl-o groaned.

“Oh but there is! Grab the packs and we shall set camp for the night. It is truly a wonderful place to rest!” Nick roared out again. Scowl-o scowled.

The paladins took their sleeping rolls, along with an extra for Tobi, out of small pouches on their hips, each pouch could contain a massive amount, they also costed a king’s ransom. Tobi looked up from a nut he had been attempting to open using only his thumbs, so far no progress, but he was still hopeful. When he looked up he saw the men retrieving sleeping rolls from too-small bags, he wanted one.

“Come, Tobi, you shall have a roll to sleep in as well!” he indicated a roll set on the ground, little more than a hide bag along with some fur, “I shall take first watch.” he stated before finding a well suited boulder and sitting down, the crisp clinking of his armor sounding out in the cold night air.

Tobi hadn’t napped in a while and he felt the urge to, so he padded over to his sleeping roll and pulled the top flap over his shoulder. The other two paladins did the same, still garbed in metal their armor, they lay their blades down next to their rolls and fell into a light slumber.

Nick peered into the dark woods restlessly, his eyelids had grown strangely heavy, yet he kept them open through sheer force of will. Strange motes of orange dust floated in the air and the tall trees stood resolutely, unchanging in the moonlight. He hadn’t seen a single thing to alert him, yet still he felt the ever present uneasiness gnawing at his core. He had felt this sensation before, he had a unique ability that allowed him to sense when monsters were nearby.

Ever since they had entered this clearing he had the feeling they were being watched, stalked even. So he never let his guard down, he stared off into the forest, looking for any sign of the beast following them.

He groaned, whatever it was, it obviously had patience in abundance. The strangely set up rocks in the clearing would provide cover for whatever it was, along with the bushes, trees, and strange abundance of vines clinging to the trees around him. There were strange indentations in the ground that his eyes kept falling on, they looked like some great beast had lifted boulders out of their resting places and moved them.

Unless.

“Get up! Wake up!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, all the evidence moving into place. He jumped off of the rock he had been sitting on and sprinted over to his companions, he kicked at their still forms, knocking them awake.

“What is it sir!” they asked in unison, all evidence of their annoyance with their over excited leader gone at the presence of potential danger.

“The plants! Get away from the plants!” he replied.

They didn’t question him and did as they were told, leaving behind their sleeping rolls and their forgotten injured companion in their haste. The three men burst out of the clearing, their breathing labored. The two paladins looked at their leader confusedly, “Why did we run from the plants?”

“I had a suspicion when I had started to feel more tired than I should have been, along with my [Monster Detection] ability being on alert ever since we neared the clearing.” he answered resolutely.

Scowl-o looked over, his signature scowl replaced with a look of even deeper confusion, “I still don’t get it. If there was a monster there, why didn’t we fight it.”

“Because we need to regroup here if we are to fight it.” he looked over seriously, “Those stones weren’t separate boulders, they were segments of a Plant Elemental. I don’t know what manner of Plant Elemental it was, but this one must be high enough level to use spores to attempt to make me sleep. I’d guess it was around level 75, that’s usually when most monsters obtain unique racial magic.”

Blondy opened his mouth to speak, but shut it instantly, his eyes opened wide. He looked as if he had forgotten to turn off the stove before leaving his house, and he might as well have, “Tobias! We forgot him!”

Scowl-o looked over, “Let’s leave him, we don’t have a mage, and elementals are nearly impervious to our attacks.”

“No. We promised him safety and he shall have it. We fight!” Nick called out.

Blondy didn’t look too excited, “I, for once, agree with him. We shouldn’t attempt to fight a plant elemental. There is no way we can save him and all of us escape.”

Nick took out his blade, “Are you refusing a direct order?”

“No. I just think it’s a stupid order.”

“Will you fight for Aasari? Will you help me save this man?”

His answer was delivered when Scowl-o knocked the hilt of his blade into Nick’s unguarded head, “I am not dying for that imbecil. Drag him into the clearing and lets go.”

Nick fell to the ground with a clank, Blondy looked at Scowl-o with trepidation, but did as he was told. The two paladins left behind their leader inside the clearing, along with a still sleeping Tobias and a slowly forming Plant Elemental.