It had been a long time since Hump had tried to suppress a fire. Outside of the early years of his training, he would rarely use any fire affinity spells other than Spark, as his affinity was so poor. He remembered a few lessons where he’d been instructed to put a candle out while only wielding fire essence, a challenge that required one to overwhelm the natural energetic intent that the essence possessed. With the farmhouse ablaze, it was a big step up from a candle flame. And fire was a dangerous adversary.

Hump couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. He had come a long way since his days as an apprentice, his mind and soul maturing, but it was a big task for any Rank 2 wizard.

He gathered his will, envisioning the house as he wanted it. The slowly dwindling flames, the waning heat, the snuffed out embers in the smouldering wood. Hump took a breath and focused on convincing himself with absolute certainty that this was possible. A powerful trick, until it backfired of course.

“I’ll deal with the worst of it,” Hump said. “Freeze anything that I miss.”

“No problem,” Bud said.

Hump’s eyes found the dead farmer nearby and a part of him wondered what good it would do anyway. His stomach churned at the thought of finding the burnt remains of his family inside, but he shook it from his mind, abandoning worries that he could do nothing about.

This was beyond the capabilities of his mind alone. He looked around and saw Corvin’s party members occupied with their own wounded. Taking his spellbook from his hip, he held it out in his left hand, opened down the middle. The pages whirled open, falling open on the page of a cantrip.

SPELLBOOK

Control Fire

Alteration | Chant | Tier 0 | Range: Short

Description

Create, control, and manipulate fire.

The formation gleamed with essence—simple, but that was one of the things that made control over an element so powerful. He stamped his staff into the ground beside him, essence rising from his spellbook and forming a faint tendril of yellow light to his staff, flowing like a river of stars.

He reached for the blazing house, for the fire essence that filled every inch of the building. And he made his claim, forcing his intent into it. The fire roared excitement in response. An all-encompassing heat that filled him, a surge of energy that left him nauseated, obscuring his vision as if he were lost in the fire itself. For a moment, he relished the power. Then he squashed it, suppressing its intent and stopping the flow of its essence.

He chanted the ancient words of Control fire, the image of dwindling flames still fixed in his mind. He engrained the blaze with his will, overwhelming its intent. It resisted in flares of strength, and each time he squeezed a little tighter, crushing it in the fist of his mind until the flames quieted. Bud moved forward, unleashing frostfire across the scene, and quickly they brought the house under control.

As Hump let his magic fade, he felt as if the surrounding wind had faded too. Soon, Marcela arrived, and Nina helped to finish the job with her power over water, ensuring the blaze didn’t rekindle.

“I’ve seen Chosen sorcerers with less control over fire than you,” Nina said. “That was impressive.”

Hump smiled. “Wizards have their tricks.”

Though he’d not needed one. It had been easy. The fire’s intent had folded beneath his will with little issue. It was a strange feeling. In a way, he had the gorger to thank for that strength. The dragon had boosted his affinity and soul, but the gorger had honed it, and hardened his resolve.

Marcela’s eyes drifted over the farmer’s corpse, then she forced herself to look away. “What’s the situation?” she asked calmly.

Hump glanced over at Corvin, who still stood at the edge of the treeline, staring into the forest. He was in a poor state for a Chosen.

“A band of ogres attacked,” Hump said. “From what I could piece together, a dozen or so. Celaine’s tracking them now.”

Marcela sighed. “Emirai’s mercy. How many dead?”

“As far as we know,” Hump’s gaze fell upon the bloodied body again, “just him.”

“That’s something at least. Will Celaine be alright alone?”

“She’ll be fine,” Hump said.

“How can you be sure?” Len snapped. “You shouldn’t have sent her off alone like that.”

Hump frowned at the man, noting the flustered look on his face. He’d noticed Len’s keen interest in Celaine during their travels.

“Celaine can handle herself,” Hump said firmly. “With a bit of luck, she’ll find where the ogres are going.”

Len scowled. “This is ridiculous. Teff, go find Celaine and bring her back. We can’t risk more injured.”

Hump massaged his head, trying not to let his temper slip. “No. The ogres are weighed down by livestock. Celaine won’t have any trouble. We need her to find out where they’re going if we’re to go after them.”

“Gods’ mercy.” Len scoffed. “Keep out of this, wizard, and let us salvage this wreck of a situation. Kesha is already down, we can’t just go strutting through a monster infested forest. Teff, what are you still doing here? Go!”

Hump gritted his teeth, about to shout back, when Marcela spoke.

“Hold on a moment, Teff. Len, you need to calm down. Remember who’s in command.”

The sorcerer’s cheek twitched. “Very well. Then what are your orders?”

She turned a frown toward Hump. “Going after these ogres is risky, especially with evening setting in. I’m not sure I agree.”

“He’s a bloody no-name hedge wizard,” Len snapped. “Just ignore him.”

She silenced him with another glare.

Hump sighed. “These ogres have attacked once. We’re too small a group to defend all the farms in the region, so our only choice is to take the initiative. If we don’t take the fight to them.” Hump pointed to the torn-up body of the farmer. “Best get used to the sight, because we’ll be seeing it a whole lot more.”

Len’s face paled as he followed Hump’s hand. “Our task is to protect the villages. We can’t do that if we go too far into the forest and die.”

“We can handle a band of ogres,” Hump said. He turned to Marcela. “We shouldn’t walk into this blind by any means, but we have two hunters that can gather information on the ogres. We’ll have all the information we need to know we’re not walking into a fight we can’t win.”

Marcela hesitated, her gaze on the still unconscious Kesha. “It’s a risk. One mistake, and we could lose someone. A few, we could lose everyone.”

“Believe me, ogres have a fierce appetite,” Hump said. “Pumped up on dungeon essence, you don’t want to let them establish a camp nearby.”

“Their guard will be lowered after a successful raid,” Dylan added. “If we catch them while they’re on the move or making camp, we have the ranged power to kill a few immediately.”

“I’ve never fought an ogre,” Emilia said. “I’ve heard they’re slow and stupid.”

“Slow, stupid, and incredibly strong,” Hump said. “Nothing a group containing eighteen Chosen should be afraid of though.”

“Very well,” Marcela said.

Len threw up his arms. “You can’t be serious.”

“Whatever decision we make involves an element of risk,” Marcela said. “At least this way, we control when the fight takes place. Besides, the gods granted us the strength to protect our people. Could you really live with yourself, Len, if they killed more people when we could have taken action?”

“More easily than if my face was caved in by a club,” he said.

“Then stay,” she said. “We should leave behind a few of us across the villages just in case, while the rest of us go after them. If Celaine is successful,of course.”

“It’s not a matter of ‘if’,” Hump said.

Harlow arrived atop Sally a short while later, Eve’s party riding with him. They set about making plans, leaving Corvin’s party to defend the villages while the rest of them went out. In the end, Len agreed to come too. It seemed his loyalty to his party outweighed his pride.

Celaine returned in about an hour. Enough time for Hump to begin to worry, but he had long since learnt to trust in her skills.

“The ogres are following the stream deeper into the forest,” she told them. “They’re slow. We could catch them if we go now.”

“What were their numbers like?” Marcela asked.

“I counted thirteen,” she said.

“The number of the fallen god,” Matthius said. “A bad omen.”

“Or a sign of evil we must destroy,,” Marcela said.

“Better to fight now than to dwell on anticipation,” Eve said, her party of Chosen nodding their agreement behind her. “Fifteen of us against thirteen of them bodes well.”

Marcela looked at Hump.

“I’ve already said enough about my stance,” Hump said.

She nodded. “Then let us go. Corvin, spread your party out across the villages.”

“We can fight,” he said.

“You’ve fought enough for today,” she said. “Keep everyone safe and await our return.”

With Corvin’s party remaining behind, that left fifteen of them to go after the ogres. Celaine led the way, quickly finding the stream and following its winding passage through Stonebark Forest. Soon, it meandered north, and they were deeper into the forest than ever before. They went fast, fast enough that Hump was struggling to keep up, the ground around the stream obscured by trees and stones and rough ground. At points, they found overgrown trails that made for easier travel, and soon Celaine went on ahead to scout out the unfamiliar terrain.

It was slow progress from there, a focus on remaining hidden over speed. They must have travelled four miles in the hour or so since they’d left, slowed by the thick foliage. If it was difficult for them, it must have been even harder for the ogres burdened with livestock.

Teff and Celaine returned to them shortly.

“We found them,” Celaine whispered. “They’re back on the move.”

“What did you make of them?” Marcela asked Teff.

His face was a mix of disbelief and fear. “It’s a lot of monsters… But the terrains good. Celaine and I can lead our more lightly equipped members to their flank.”

“With the rest of you attacking from the rear, it would effectively pin them against the stream,” Celaine said. “They’d be sitting ducks.”

“We surround them with our tanks and finish them off at range,” Hump said. “I like the sound of that.”

“Just like the Battle of Lothgor,” Marcela said. “An entire horde of orcs slaughtered beneath a rain of arrows.”

Eve smiled, the small woman seeming eerily keen. “I like it.”

“Then we have a plan,” Hump said. “Who’s going where?”

In the end, Celaine, Teff, Marcela, Emilia, and Halbir of Eve’s party would take the flank. Dylan had wanted to go too, but Hump thought the druid’s role on the front line and in support would be more important.

Marcela had left Eve in command. A decision Hump could hardly disagree with. Not only was she older than him and Chosen, she also had the respect of everyone that came with it. Len would follow her command at the very least.

They stayed together until the ogres came into view. Thirteen, giant, beefy humanoids, with large muscles and even larger bellies. They had bald heads and hunched slightly as they walked. Their mouths hung open slightly, revealing jaws of sharp teeth and tusk-like incisors. They were clothed about the waist, but their upper bodies were mostly bare, revealing leathery grey skin. Hump’s eyes fell to their weapons. Most carried clubs as large as tree branches, many adorned with metal spikes. A few carried pigs over their shoulders.

Two stood out. Their shaman walked at the centre of their column, carrying a short staff of burnt-black wood. Bits of bone and skulls and all sorts of furs adorned its body. Studs pierced its ears and nose, and a necklace of what looked like monstrous teeth hung around its neck. And then there was the chieftain—a giant by even ogre standards. He carried an iron shield in his left hand, and a large iron-spiked club in its right.

“Wait for our strike,” Marcela said. “When we hit, charge them. Use everything to block off their path and surround them.”

There were nods and words of agreement all around and Marcela smiled at them.

“Work together, and stay alive,” she whispered. Good luck.”

It was a nervous wait. Hump’s heart thumped as he watched the ogres slowly make their way further into the forest, the lumbering giants bulldozing their way through the needle filled shrubbery without a care. There was a fearful shriek, and Hump realised one of the pigs was still alive. An ogre prodded it while another held it on its shoulders, laughing as it struggled. The ogre with the pig gripped it more tightly and turned to its comrade, grunting a curse.

“Disgusting,” Bud whispered.

“If its lucky, that pig may still survive this,” Hump said.

“How about we worry about our own lives over the bloody pig,” Len snapped.

A flash of silver light streaked through the air, flying toward the ogres. Hump felt fear fill him, a fear he recognised as Celaine. The arrow found its mark, piercing deeply into the side of an ogres head and coming out the other side, where it was lost to the stream.

The ogre wobbled on his feet a moment as all its comrades turned to look, then slowly, it collapsed to the ground. A heavy thud echoed through the forest.

The ogres bellowed like thunder, raising their weapons alongside their battlecry, searching for opponents.

“Let’s move,” Eve said.

And then they charged.