Entry 7

Day 4

Good news, bad news.

Bad news first: They weren’t foxes… They were WOLVES, and they got to some of the chickens then ran away after almost killing me.

Good news: I tracked them down, got their asses, and even learned some new spells!

Let me tell you what happened!

Once I emerged from the barn and saw no imminent chicken threats around, I got right back to practicing Minor Trap. Right away I made another pink illusory trap and decided to reread the spell instructions to see if I was missing something.

When I read it over I quickly learned the error of my ways. The spell specifies the mana should flow through the palm of your hand, but every time I’ve casted, I could feel the little magical tingles in my fingers. I’ve been using the finger tinglies the whole time when I’m supposed to be using the palm tinglies! I’m sure there’s a more educated, magically proficient way to explain that… but that was the best way for me to rationalize it. So the next time I attempted Minor Trap, I focused on creating the palm tinglies! I felt the mana shift from my fingertips to the center of my hand before I tried my best to push it out. Sure enough, an orange circle formed in the grass! Eventually… It felt like there was so much more resistance in my hand than when I use Minor Illusion. Casting illusions feels light, like my fingers are gliding through fresh water. This trap spell felt like I was pushing my hand through mud. It just felt a lot… thicker. Maybe I’m just a natural illusionist, or I just need more practice with Minor Trap. Either way, it took me a lot more time and effort to make my one little orange trap. I still did it though so yay!!!☆ Well now the trap was just… there now so… I just left it there. I didn’t want to try and test it. I mean what if I stepped in it and then my foot got stuck? I also didn’t want to just throw a rock or something in the trap and set it off. It was really hard to make that trap. I didn't want to just waste it!

I was still a little sleepy so I let out a massive yawn with a huge stretch of my arms. I was super confused why I heard a howl when I opened my mouth instead of the standard groan of a yawn.

But the howl didn’t actually come out from my mouth, it came from behind me! Haha silly Ashley!

Then I freaked the fuck out and whipped my neck around. It was at that moment that I wished it was just a few foxes sneaking by in the middle of the night for a quick bite.

Three big, bad, bitchass wolves were starting to run towards the farm. Specifically, they were hungry for the delectable Kentucky Unfried Chicken I was responsible for guarding.

Like any reasonable woman, I totally panicked. I ran back into the barn to hide. I wasn’t going to fight those things, are you crazy?! They’d tear me apart!

But then I heard the loudest, most violent clucks I’ve ever heard underscored by the frantic flapping of wings and malicious growls of their assailants. I felt super guilty about letting these chickens get ripped apart in my place. I was supposed to be protecting them and I was using them to protect myself! The innocent chickens didn’t deserve this wolf stimulated massacre! And uh… the farmer didn’t either… I guess.

So I, despite my survival instincts, shakily stepped out from the barn to face the wolves. Two of them had chomped onto the wings of two struggling chickens while the third was chasing one around in circles.

I need to draw their attention away from the chicken coop first and foremost. I had the great idea of making an illusion to distract them! All that was left was to figure out what to make. Something that wolves would really like…

Bones! I made an illusion bone in my hand to throw at the wolves! It was… a little pinker than I wanted it to be, but otherwise it was perfect! I threw it over to the two wolves currently feasting on their two piece chicken wing and breast combo.

The two weren’t even phased. They just kept eating, they didn’t even look at the bone! Wolves are supposed to like bones!! Was it because I used cartoons as my reference for the bones instead of being more anatomically accurate? WHY WOULD I THINK THE WOLVES KNEW ANATOMY?!

Whatever! There was still the third wolf trying their best to catch a chicken like its two buddies. This time I made a biblically accurate looking slightly pink hued bone to throw to the wolf. (Side note: WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS PINK?!)

This one actually got its attention! It walked over to it and gave it a huge whiff, then a big chomp! Then the… bone disappeared. The chicken was soon running for its life again after the ten second break I gave it with my party trick. At this point I just said fuck it. I unhitched my pokey poker rapier sword and ran towards the chicken terrorists. They were pretty busy either feasting or trying to feast so they didn’t really pay me much mind. I held my rapier so awkwardly. I haven’t exactly been trained in fencing so… it’s not like I had any idea how to properly use the damn thing. That being said, stabbing things is a simple enough concept for me to grasp. Thus, I was able to poke the two wolves stuffing their jaws full of the chicken nuggets they pre ordered! I pierced both of them in the side and they spit up their meal! Butttttt… they were PISSED. At ME. The two started angrily snarling at me, getting lower to the ground and readying their legs to lunge at me. This visible and audible agitation alerted their third friend, who clearly was angry that I hurt his two buddies.

So there I was… slowly backing away from three angry wolves. Left hand shakily gripping my rapier, pointing it at the angry doggies to keep them away. It was at least keeping them from rushing me completely, but they were still encroaching on me and slowly starting to circle around me. I thought this was it, I was cooked. Wolf food on my first ever job.

Well… things had to have gotten better, right? I mean… I’m writing this right now, aren't I?

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

No it actually got worse. As I was gently retreating from three aggressive maws, I triggered my OWN. FUCKING. TRAP. The one I made as a test and I left in the grass because I didn’t want to waste it. WELL IT GOT ITS USE.

My foot got vacuum sealed into this stupid orange little bubble and tripped me up. I fell backwards on my ass and the wolves continued circling me and were only getting closer. If I wasn’t cooked before, NOW I was absolutely grilled, sautéed, filet-mignon on a silver platter, deep fried, broiled, and other… cooked synonyms…

So yeah if I was internally freaking out before, I was externally freaking out now. Crying and screaming and shit like I thought I was going to get eaten alive. I saw that the wolves were absolutely ready to pounce on me now and I had to do something. I thought I could use an illusion to hide, to mask myself from the wolves I mean fuck I was panicking and desperate for my lupine problems to go up in smoke.

I raised my right hand above me with all these frantic thoughts flaming up my mind. I don’t know if I’m an illusory genius or a lucky trickster but a massive cloud of grayish pink smoke burst out from my hand, making it incredibly difficult to see the wolves.

That also meant it was incredibly difficult for the wolves to see me! So I postponed the dinner appointment they had with me!

But also… casting that smokescreen REALLY fucking hurt. It felt like my fingers were on fire, like that’s what caused the smoke at all. I dropped my rapier to grab at my wrist in a pitiful attempt to cope with the burning. I sharply inhaled trying not to scream my lungs out, but I could even worry about the pain right now because I could see a wolf-like shadow getting bigger and closer to me.

I needed something to drive them away. Although the smoke kept me hidden for now, it also meant I couldn’t scare them visually.

Sound! I could make a sound! What do wolves fear? What are wolves scared of in the wild?! Do wolves even have predators?!?!?

A dog whistle! Just make an instance of ultrasound! I mean not like I’d have any idea if it was working, and I don’t even know what sound to even emulate but the illusions are all about intent right?! I gave it a shot with my other, less violently burning hand and attempted the spell. I snapped my fingers praying for a sound I couldn’t even hear to come out of them.

My prayers were answered hearing the whines of the wolves through the smoke and the swift pattering of paws running away, getting farther and farther.

Phew! I survived!!☆

I then went back to clutching my right hand with my left, still trying to deal with the burning. The smoke around me started to clear and I inspected my hand. The lengths of my fingers were tinted with this pinkish reddish burn. It looked like a sunburn but hurt wayyyy more, and I would know a thing or two about sunburns being a pasty white bitch from California.

There was still the issue with the trap around my ankle. I gave it a few kicks from inside but I couldn’t get it to budge. I got frustrated and reached over for my rapier and just drove it through the bubble. The bubble popped with ease, and the blade landed dangerously close to my foot! I guess the traps are much easier to break from the outside than the inside. I suppose they’d be terrible traps if it was reversed…

Sitting on the grass, I heard the swinging open of a wooden door behind me. Looking back, I saw the farmer man approaching me. He said he heard all the commotion, and came out once he thought it was safe. He asked me if I “got em”.

I couldn’t lie to the guy, so I told him I did not get 'em. I told him that there were wolves that were attacking the chicken coop, and they chomped into a few of the hens. I said I managed to chase them off and they ran back into the woods. I also mentioned how I was pretty sure no chickens were killed, but two of them definitely have wing injuries…

He got pretty angry with me, telling me I was supposed to have taken care of the problem and not push it back for tomorrow.

I mean… he was right. I may have prevented a chicken massacre tonight, but the wolves would certainly come back. Reluctantly, I told the farmer I’d track down the wolves, but I just needed a short rest first since my fingers were on fire and I felt so exhausted casting so many illusions so rapidly.

He scoffed and walked away. He went around his house and disappeared behind it. I thought he was just frustrated and done with me, but he soon came back with a bucket of water and told me to drink up.

Who was I to turn down free water? I love water!! I dumped my burning hand into the bucket and the water soothed the pain immensely. After a few minutes, I drank that shit up and it honestly felt so refreshing! I needed that drink omg. I thanked the farmer and told him I’d get right on finding those wolves. He nodded and took himself and his empty bucket back inside. Even though I told him I’d get right on it, I just sat in the grass for a while to catch my breath and take a much needed break..

I looked at my right hand again to see what was up. The pink burns were still there, but my hand wasn’t hurting anymore. It just felt pretty numb and tingly. I decided I wasn’t going to be doing magic out of righty anymore. I picked up my rapier with lefty and mentally prepared myself to finish this commission.

Now all that was left was to find the three feral dogs. Lucky for me, Cerberus Divided had left some paw prints in the dirt for me to follow. After following the tracks for maybe like twenty minutes, I eventually found this big cave deep in the woods that the footprints led up to.

Now it was time to get strategic. I was NOT about to get caught off guard again! I latched my rapier to my belt and began casting spells. Traps to be more precise! I set up three traps in the entrance of the cage, spread out far enough apart to hopefully trap each of the wolves.

Then… and only then… I sat down! I definitely felt like I was improving with the trap making, but holy fuck can it be tiring. It’s like each trap was the energy equivalent of 10 burpees, so I just blitzed 30 burpees in a row without any breaks between sets! It feels like an entirely different endurance too. A magical endurance I don’t have built up yet. I mean obviously I have terrible mana stamina! Sta-mana? Stamana. I have terrible stamana because MAGIC DIDN’T EXIST FOR ME A LESS THAN A WEEK AGO.

Anyway, after another kinda long break, I was ready for the wolves. I just needed something to lure them out, and I knew just the thing. I raised my left hand and snapped my fingers.

“BAWK BAWKAAA BAWK BAWK BAKAWWWW!”

Yeahhhhhh… I made chicken sounds echo through the cave…~

It worked like a charm. The wolves came running out, not to be met with chickens, but with ME! To add to their confusion, once they breached the cave’s entrance, their paws got stuck in orange bubbles! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! IT WAS ALL COMING TO PLAN!!!

Each wolf had a front leg stuck in a trap, so I obviously ceased the opportunity. I poked the first wolf a few times in its neck and head, doing the same with the second one as they were both too busy struggling with their traps, and unable to evade my attacks! The third wolf was able to break the seal of the trap clawing and popping the bubble. It lunged at me once it was free and I barely managed to block his bite with my sword as I fell to the ground, this wolf trying to bite through my rapier as I tried to wrestle it off of me. The fucker slashed at my face, digging its claws into my left cheek and drawing blood. I angrily kicked the bitch off of me and slashed it away, cutting at its nose and getting it to back off. It tried to lunge at me again, but I intercepted the rush with my rapier and pierced the wolf’s jaw as it leaped at me. Luckily all I had to do was just stick the blade out and gravity helped the little shit fall on my sword. I then pulled my edge out and punctured the wolf’s neck as it hobbled over and softly whined in pain, bringing it to a quicker end.

I brought my right hand up to my cheek. Yep. Definitely bleeding. The cuts didn’t feel too deep though, so I thankfully wasn’t going to bleed out from my face. It also… made me feel less bad about killing those wolves knowing they hurt me. They hurt those chickens too, and whatever livestock the farmer had lost before, so they had it coming.

I stood just outside the cave, blood dripping from my cheek as I stared deeper into the cavernous depth. Such an alluring dark vastness with mysteries to be explored and untold wonders to be discovered!

I quickly turned around and got the hell out of there. No fucking way I was going in there.

As I turned around, I was met with a gorgeous sunrise across the horizon. The darkness of night breached by the sublime golds and ambers of the morning star entering the sky. Rays of light beaming away the darkness overcast above me as the start of a new warm day was born.

Then I thought to myself: Fuck… Another sleepless night…

I walked back to the farm. Roosters crowing with the rise of the sun, probably unaware of the injuries sustained by a few of its friends. The farmer rubbing his eyes and coming out to shut the rooster up for being punctually obnoxious.

I waved him down and told him about the wolves. I followed them to their cave and took care of the problem. He shouldn’t worry about losing any animals in the middle of the night anymore. He shook my hand and thanked me. Afterwards, he asked me if my face was okay. I told him I was fine, just part of the job.

He let it go and seemed happy about me getting rid of the wolves, meaning I can consider this a job well done!

Victory for Ashley!☆