The beast pressed its snout into the ground. Sniffing around the field, it could have chosen just about anywhere to dig and find food. It opted to wait for the perfect scent, something that would finally appease its palate. Little did it care for stealth and restraint. Massive tusks uprooted the earth to reveal the season’s crops, which it devoured along with massive chunks of dirt.

Beside it was a smaller bipedal creature. At first, Finn mistook it for a goblin. Goblins didn’t have claws, right? It turned around to show a rather serpent-like tail. From what he could guess it was a young lizardman. Upon reaching the farm it chose a spot immediately. While it wasn’t as picky as his hooved companion, he took several moments to peel the onions before stuffing his mouth. They were now grunting and chewing in unison.

If he attacked right now, he could easily land a hit or two before they retaliate. But then what? He had thought little about using targets to practice his magic. Anything within his range of six yards he could easily hit. As such his practice was little more than aiming at Sithri as she read her books, hoping that the spell would travel an extra bit of distance to warrant her attention. This practice, however, told him little of the damage he could inflict. He couldn’t imagine himself taking down a boar with only a couple of hits.

Of all the times Sithri wasn’t accompanying him it had to be now. When they arrived in Redding she didn’t seem to have issues spending the entire day babysitting, making sure he followed his routine. Recently Sithri had been disappearing on him more and more often. Wait, can Sithri even fight? Her ponytail often wrapped around a bow she carried just about everywhere, to her dismay. Various daggers were also holstered on each side of her waist. From that he assumed her to be a ranger of sorts, but his experience gave no evidence of the sort. She was always watching him train, never partaking in her own.

Wait, can anyone in this village even fight? An image appeared in his mind of the farmer’s wife running and screaming for her life. The villagers would come out to defend her. He would no longer be able to control the situation while simultaneously losing this opportunity to strike.

If anyone would have to die in the village, he would prefer it be himself. He could always tell C’Thulu he tried his best. Besides, it’s not like he promised anything in the first place.

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Silently, he leaped over the wooden fence.

Nal bolar ast

Green liquid formed into a lance and launched right into the lizards back. Its force knocked him flying forward with his face flying into the ground.

Jistrathar sular digas

The boar hadn’t the time to react before the spell smashed into the side of its face. It squealed in agony, but as expected it was far from subdued. The lizardman had gotten up and hopped on top of the boar. Finn raised his arm to prepare another spell, waiting for the pair to charge. Instead, the boar turned abruptly and started charging towards the opening it had made to get into the field. Was it fleeing, or making a tactical retreat? Either way, he didn’t want to find out.

Chasing would be pointless. He was losing ground fast. Not to mention the further out they managed to get the more he risked running into an ambush. If he had to do something it had to be now. The problem was that they were already out of reach for his elemental spells.

[Mage Hand]? I’m sure I could give a tail a nice tug and annoy them as they get away. [Darkness]? It might stop them, but then what? Being enveloped in the dark fog would eventually only help them escape.

Qaziem suh kair

Each of its hooves dug straight into the ground. It came to a complete stop within moments. The rider was sent flying yet again, this time landing flat on its back. A wall of ice had erupted from the ground in front of them, protruding large spikes that threatened impalement. The wall stretched wide and thick, blocking an escape both on the path and into the forest. The only way out was into the river or back into the farm.

Of course, if you asked Finn the details of the spell [Ice Wall], he would have to consult Finac’s spell book first. He hadn’t actually bothered to learn any defensive magic whatsoever. Anyone familiar with the actual spell would immediately notice several unusual aspects about the wall and its incantation.

The spell he had used was [Minor Illusion]. He had practiced it all evening thanks to its lowered mana cost. He started off replicating small objects off the top of his mind. While he couldn’t cast images of living things, at least convincingly, most inanimate objects were quite possible.

He had experimented with the image of a lit candle. The fire on the candle was convincing at a distance. Without paying close attention one could overlook how it gave off no light or heat. Another test, without the candle, and he flung imaginary fires similar in pattern to his elemental magic. With further test, he discovered that he could imitate just about any low leveled spell in his arsenal.

And so, the massive wall of ice threatened the boar. For another 50 seconds it will continue to glisten like the massive poker face it was.