“Ah,” Araxesendenak grinned toothily and rubbed his bony hands together. “Here we go.”

I do not understand the reason for this charade. Why could you not simply—

“Because, child,” the lich king told the air testily, “it’s not about simply defeating your opponent. No, to get the most out of a victory, you must crush him. He will try to talk. And then as we keep him occupied, our plan will be in motion. Observe.”

* * *

“Tolliver,” the voice that the elemental spoke with next was not the same one it started with. Despite its basso notes, it still came across as high-pitched, nasally, and full of itself. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Araxesendenak,” Sam spat the word and slammed all of his buff abilities one after the other. Beside him, he felt the subtle shift in the air as dozens of high-level abilities came online. It was like a current of electricity suddenly suffusing the air. “Why are you—“

On the word ‘here’, Sam yanked his bolt-thrower up one-handed and fired into the elemental as fast as his fingers could pull the trigger. The bolts tore into the living flame, melting almost as soon as they impacted from the intense heat. The elemental squawked with the lich king’s voice, then squawked louder as a dozen fighters joined in without missing a beat.

Tilly shrieked a war-cry that doubled as a summoning call, and a pair of buzz-saw elementals shimmered into existence already running dead-out for one of the fire elementals. The gnomes all concentrated their fire on a third. And Ma and Pop…

There were two elementals not targeted by the others. Ma took one, Pop took the other.

Sam had intended to press the attack on his elemental with hammer and with the support of the shield maidens, but he—like half the battlefield—had to stop and stare as Annie and Jack Tolliver tore into their chosen enemies. Ma’s hair glowed a hellish red, her eyes a golden white, and flames hotter than anything on the elemental wreathed her form. She slammed into the living fire and absorpbed it into her own. The elemental had time for one shriek, then it was gone. And in its place, twice her original size and grinning fierce, stood a giant Annie Tolliver.

“It’s called “Molten Might,” she roared as she turned and laughed. “Tell you about it later!”

Pop, on the other hand, couldn’t just dive into his elemental. Instead, he stood there and slapped his hand against the stone wall of the nearest building… And the building reared back and punched the elemental in the nose. A mighty stone fist at leas ten feet all shot out of the building and slammed into the huge elemental, scattering flame and sparks onto the wind. Then it simply pounded on the creature until it stopped moving.

“Damn.” Sam said, then almost casually reached out with his telekinetic force, wrapped it around the little gem inside the elemental, and squeezed. There was a muffled pop, and then that elemental too was gone.

* * *

Yes, the unseen voice said flatly. Clearly that was effective.

“Okay, so the lad has learned a few tricks,” Araxesendenak grumbled as he watched his elementals get taken apart with ease. “Not to worry, not to worry, so we skip the talking part is all. The plan is still in effect.”

So you say.

* * *

“Everyone alright?” Sam asked as the last elemental fell to the buzz-saw creatures.

“We’ll live,” Ard Shi called. The two groups came towards each other, and Sam gripped the older man’s hand. All around them, the sound and smell of fire was pervasive. Clouds of smoke from burning buildings filled the sky, and Sam tried hard not to think about how much of that smoke might be coming from corpses as well. “Looks like that unknown enemy of yours just got smarter, Sam.”

“Looks like it,” he growled. “How’d they get over the walls without being spotted?”

“No clue. One minute everything was fine, the next minute the air was full of fire.” The guardsman hefted his spear. “My people are in trouble, Sam. Can you help?”

“Hell yes,” Sam hefted Thumb Bane.

“As you can see, he is tenacious,” Araxesendenak said as they watched the little group become a bigger group and dash off into the town. “But no matter.”

The tunnelers have reached their destinations?

“Oh yes indeed. You know my dear,” the lich king was almost amiable, “you really do need to understand your toys better.”

I sent the most powerful warriors my spawn points could disgorge.

“And young Tolliver chewed them up and spat them out like so much licorice,” the lich king said with a disdainful sniff. “Take it from a being who got where he is by years of bloody conquest, it’s not always about the raw combat power of your troops that wins the day. It’s about hearts and minds, out-thinking your foe, reading his move and being twenty steps ahead of him.”

But you attacked the Tolliver head-on with all your personal power. How is that different?

“The difference is, I could have won,” Araxesendenak growled. “If that little harlot hadn’t gotten in my way. Now hush. It’s time for the finale to this little scene. First we distract him with the fire elementals. Then we wait until the burrowers are in place. Now… The messenger.”

The cleanup was going well. The fire elementals seemed more intent on just creating havoc than on following any set plan or having any formal leadership. Sam grinned as his hammer blew through the gemstone of a smaller one that was menacing a shopfront. Aside from the heat and the killer thirst he was working up, this wasn’t actually that bad!

“Sam,” Tilly said, wiping sweat from her brow. “Something’s bugging me.”

“Like what?” Sam Called his hammer back and took a moment from the carnage to look around.

“Like, how are these things here?”

“Hasn’t that question been answered already?”

“No no, how are these things here under the lich king’s control? He’s a skeletons and zombies kind of dude, not a fire elemental dude. These things are Wild Monsters, just like that stuff that attacked us earlier in the week. Didn’t those things belong to another one of your misunderstood sweethearts?”

Sam blinked. “You sure?”

“Pretty sure.” Tilly nodded. “Elementals are spawns, not lich armies.”

Well, that didn’t bode well for… Pretty much anything. Had the enemy and Araxesendenak teamed up somehow? He could think of less apocalyptic scenarios, but not more than two off the top of his head—

“Tolliver? Tolliver! You need to hear this! Please!” It was councilwoman Milthorne again, dashing at Sam’s little group from one of the unburned buildings. She must have been holed up inside, or maybe… Maybe the elementals had received orders not to touch her place? It was not a thought Sam liked to consider, but there was always the possibility…

And the possibility only grew stronger as the middle-aged woman jogged up and bent nearly double as she tried to speak and catch her breath at the same time.

“Tolliver. My lord has contacted me directly. He sends me with a message for you. Please, please hear me. He says he will stop the attack on the town if you only hear me out.”

Sam blinked.

“Aw hell,” Tilly muttered. “Sneaky son of a shinbone, isn’t he?”

“Alright Milthorne,” Sam said, nodding slowly. “What’s the message?”

* * *

“And now,” Araxesendenak said haughtily, “we away to the teleportation chamber.” He waved a hand and dismissed the screen. He had the timing down, and didn’t need to hear or see anymore.

He had places to be, after all.