Zach’s POV
“Morning Percy, how goes the watch?” I asked, noticing the youngster was a lot different today. It was a few hours past midnight, and he was adeptly scanning the area looking for enemies. I was surprised to see him checking both the near field as well as the treeline.
“So far so good Zach. Anything I can help you with?”
“Not particularly.” I shrugged, taking a spot on the battlements with him. “I just came out to check on you guys. My gut says this will be the day the attacks start.”
“Far be it from me to doubt the gut of a veteran.” He chuckled. “Any tips for spotting enemies in the dark like this? I’ve been scanning near and far looking for movement, or changes to the normal landmarks.”
“That’s about it.” I said. “Unless you have a dark vision skill, there isn’t much else human eyes can-“
SKKKKRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCHHHHH
I turned at the interruption to see a signal flare launched from the west side. “And so it begins.” I muttered, turning back to see Percy still taking his watch seriously. “Keep it up lad, you’re doing a great job. I’ll be walking the wall, but don’t be shy about shouting out if you think you see something.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Elendria’s POV
I was enjoying my night curled up against Sean’s chest when the screech announced the first of the attackers. “Did you see the direction?” I asked.
“West.” He replied with a grim voice.
“Shit.” I muttered, feeling him tense at the unusual swear from me. “I won’t have much to do, but I do have to appear.”
“I know.” He whispered, kissing my hair and squeezing me against his chest. “Be careful. I can’t think about you getting hurt out there.”
“I’ll be fine.” I said, fluffing his chest hair one last time. “Now let me go so I don’t get in trouble.” Reluctantly I pulled myself out of bed and got dressed. “Are you going to wear the gear they provided?”
“Yeah.” He said with a sigh. “Even if it is only a necklace and diadem, the benefits are worth it. I’m not too worried about the reduced mana consumption just yet, but reducing mental fatigue from multiple spells at once is going to be huge.” I saw the diadem as he put it on his head, and I marveled for a second at the craftsmanship. Somehow they had managed to pull and manipulate some of the mana veins from the turtle shell and incorporate that into the equipment, supporting it with strands of mithril. The forehead was a large opal flanked by a triangle of smaller opals on each side. The necklace was a simple silver chain that split at some point to weave around several small opal shards before encircling the monster’s core. Incredibly tiny inscriptions covered the strands, starting with the four main elements of the opals with the interconnecting strands being split into the combined elements.
“Be careful hun.” Sean said, pulling me into a hug and giving me one last kiss. “I’ll see you when this is done.”
“Damn straight you will.” I said with a grin, before heading out the door. Ten minutes later, and I was climbing the wall to my station, feeling the comforting magic of Sean’s constellations falling down on us.
“Elendria, glad to see you.” Our wall leader, Ashe, said as soon as I cleared the steps.
“Ashe. How’s it looking?”
“Small groups of simians so far, no elemental alignment. A few of the lesser jagthers. Hunting cats that tend to have shadow magic. Ambush predators, though they can rip you up if you aren’t wearing plate.” He explained at my confused look.
“Ok. What’s the plan for magicians?”
“First day we will have two on duty for six hours each. You have second shift, from noon to six. I know you are supposed to conserve your mana, so after that you will be an extra hand on eight hour shifts, only stepping in if there are places that are threatening to be overwhelmed.”
“Very well. If you don’t need me now then, I’m headed to our temporary barracks for another few hours of sleep. I assume that my first shift tomorrow will start at midnight?”
“Yeah, we can do that. Thanks for being understanding on the situation.”
“It’s no bother.” I waved him off. “Brian warned me of what might be coming, and I’m not about to weaken myself against such a powerful opponent.” He simply nodded, and I headed off for a bit more sleep. It was going to be difficult to get some when things started getting intense.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dorian’s POV, late afternoon
“First squad, pull back! Let the archers soften ‘em up!” I shouted as some of our overzealous spearmen had advanced a bit farther out than what I wanted. Another thirty feet and their flanks would have been exposed. Luckily they heard me and halted their advance, instead waiting for the weaker jackal like monsters to advance on their position.
“They are looking better.” Belor mentioned at my side.
“True. It’s probably a good thing we are getting weak waves to start. It’ll help them polish their shield wall in the face of an actual enemy wanting to kill them.” I agreed. Even now, the line was starting to look much better and they had only been in the field for an hour. “I figure another hour and we can swap squads. See how they can manage a strategic withdrawal.” Belor grunted in agreement, turning toward his own squad and overseeing their strategy.
“SECOND ROW! YOUR TARGETS ARE ANYTHING LUNGING IN THE AIR GODS DAMMIT!” He bellowed. “IT’S EASIER TO REPLACE YOU IN THE RANKS WITH A NEW SPEAR THAN THE FRONT LINE!” I saw a few second line warriors in my own squad hunch over in embarrassment, glad they had heard the yelling. Every hint that helped them survive just a bit longer or work together smoother was going to be needed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Heidi’s POV, late night watch
“Cursed luck.” I muttered as I strained my eyes to see if there were any shadows that didn’t belong. There was next to no moonlight, and the stars were barely enough to light the field. With no major light source, the shadows seemed to purposefully be playing tricks on us.
“That you Heidi?” A vaguely familiar voice called from the darkness behind me.
“Yeah.” I answered just as softly. “Who is it?”
“Carrigan.” He said, finally coming around to where I could see him. I refused to turn behind me, as that would destroy what little night vision I had managed to pick up. “I like how you have your setup. In between the glow of the nearest torches so you aren’t backlit, and you didn’t turn around and destroy your night vision. Well done.”
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“Thanks.” I said. “So what brings you out here in the middle of our shift?”
“Eh, Lori asked me to check on you guys mid shift. Make sure you had everything you needed.”
“I’m good.” I said, patting my supply pack. “I have a small ration and a canteen with a slight ice enchantment to keep it cool. The only thing I don’t have is better night vision.”
“Ah, well I might be able to help with that. Guarding things at night, this is quite the useful cantrip.” He said, walking up and placing his hands at each of my temples. “Bleed the colors to amplify light, drive away the dark of night. Cat’s Eyes.” I felt a slight tingle as his magic flowed into my eyes, and an irritating itch at the back of my eyeballs, but it went away within seconds.
“Gah, that’s uncomfortable.” I muttered, blinking several times as I wiped away a tear.
“Sorry, can’t be helped. This should give you better night vision, but you lose some of the color scale. Oh, and if you get a light shined into your eyes, they will glow yellow like a cat’s do.” He warned.
I took a moment to thoroughly look through the territory I was assigned, and was pleasantly surprised by how much it improved. The night lit up like it was a full moon, but like Carrigan said there was a lot less color. “Thanks a bunch Carrigan.” I said. “How long will this last?”
“Four hours or so at my skill level.” He shrugged. “I can transfer the base skill to you in the morning if you want.”
“I’d like that.” I said with a smile, though I doubted he could truly see it. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s something slinking along there that needs to be addressed. Tornadic bolt.” I fired a rapidly spinning bolt of air, one of my more powerful air spells. It struck the lizard like creature that had made it halfway through our area, ripping it in half as the bolt powered through its lower back.
“Not bad.” He said, bobbing his head. “Powerful enough to kill the creature, but you used air to keep it quiet and more importantly, invisible. Did you purposely aim for the lower back?”
“Yeah.” I answered, surprised that he had seen and dissected my spell so quickly. “A lot of beast type monsters have an incredibly powerful danger sense for magic attacks that target the chest and head. I’ve found if you aim lower, you avoid triggering it while still having a high probability of either killing it outright, or crippling it enough that its own wounds or someone else nearby will be able to finish it quickly.”
“Hmm. Practical, precise, deadly, and economical. Consider me impressed.” He said, watching as the lizard twitched out its last. “Sorry, I’ve dallied here long enough. Let me check in with the rest of the watch, and I might stop by later.”
“You better.” My eyes widened in horror at the quick retort. Quelling the panic, I quickly thought of an excuse. “I really want to learn that cantrip.”
“Right. Well, I can’t leave a woman disappointed, can I? I will definitely see you later.” Chastizing myself at how my heart fluttered when he said disappointed, I turned back to study my area. By Ariana Heidi! You just met the guy! And here you are getting all flustered because he paid you a few compliments! You don’t even know if he is involved with anyone! Wait, he was a caravan guard. Maybe he has a string of broken hearts he left behind. Gods, but I can’t help it! He’s smart, but he doesn’t mind paying me compliments on my own skills. Firmly pushing thoughts of Carrigan out of my head, I focused on my job. Our area faced off towards the Dire Mire, and there were already a slew of poisonous amphibians that had tried our defenses today. I was determined that none would sneak through on my watch.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sean’s POV, second morning of the wave
“We still have turtle left?” I groaned as Annette plopped a plate down in front of me.
“And whose fault is that hmmm?” She asked. “I distinctly recall stories of some mad adventurer taking down a turtle the size of a cottage by himself. Just be glad we have plenty of meat for breakfast.”
“Well, at least you can still perform magic in the kitchen.” I grumbled, digging in. I don’t think I will ever know how she got enough fat into that turtle to make a sausage, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t good. A side of potato hash and some eggs were just the thing. Too bad there wasn’t any bread that would be good for toasting, as dipping that in the egg yolk would have made it perfect.
“How are you holding up?” I looked up to see Brian slipping into the seat across from me, sipping on a bit of tea.
“No issues so far.” I said. “First day went smoothly and to plan. Holding one constellation all day isn’t even that mentally taxing anymore, and I only had one blue flare to handle. Out of curiosity, do you know what happened?”
“That? Yeah. Swarm of storm beetles from the west. Nasty little buggers, you need to blast them with water first. After that, they are basically useless. Wings too wet and heavy to fly, and the water grounds out their lightning abilities. Dorian sent a few squads of his around with mallets to finish them off.”
“Huh. They big? Or just normal sized?”
“Bigger than a normal beetle, but smaller than a cat.” He shrugged. “More an annoyance than anything, but we couldn’t risk them setting off some of our traps. I’ve left word that any creature that can use lightning be dealt with immediately, second priority being those that use fire.”
“Sounds like a plan. Annette, I’m off to the guildhall, thanks for the lovely breakfast.” I called out.
“You’re welcome, and be careful out there.” She waved, and I headed out with Brian at my side.
“Anything you aren’t telling me?” I asked. “I doubt you would bother heading all the way to catch me at breakfast otherwise.”
“I’m, not sure.” He said after a second of contemplation. “The first day went mostly as expected, though I think it was a little lighter than what we should have been fighting. It’s just. I can’t get a good read on today. Even things inside the city.”
I stopped for a second, turning to look at the distraught guildmaster. I had missed it earlier, but his hair was a bit worse than usual, and his buttons were off by one. “First, take a deep breath. You of all people should know that it is impossible to see all of the future. The fact that you are having trouble after overtaxing yourself isn’t surprising. So take a minute to get your hair and appearance in order, and do what all the best commanders throughout history have done. Fake it. No matter what happens, don’t let it rattle you. Even if you are shaking like a junkie needing a fix on the inside, you need to seem as solid as a statue to those who are looking to you to lead. As quickly as you can, analyze what happened and come up with a counter. If you can’t counter, then contain. If you can’t contain, minimize the damage. Got it?”
“I.” He paused, then took a deep breath. “I think so. Thanks Sean.” He said, and we resumed our walk. A few seconds later, he asked something I should have expected. “By the way, what is a junkie and what is his fix?”
“Gods, I’m sorry.” I chuckled. “A junkie is a slang term for someone addicted to drugs, and his fix would be getting those drugs.”
“Ah, that makes sense now. Thank you, and thanks for helping me find my ground again.”
“Anytime.” I nodded, following him up to the top of the guild building. While it was busy up there, it wasn’t as if it would rival a stock exchange floor. Runners were coming and going at a fairly rapid pace, maybe three or four per minute. There were two secretaries set up for each section, reading the messages as they came rolling in. There was a set of four secretaries working with what seemed like logistics, making sure that supplies were delivered in a timely manner.
“Guildmaster. Sean.” Hides-in-Reeds greeted us. “The night went smoothly, no major incidents to report. All injuries are minor save one broken arm, and Belor has promised me that recruit is more than fit for messenger duty. As far as we know, the only class C monsters that have attacked were the storm beetles, everything else has been class D.”
“Thank you.” Brian nodded. “That’ll likely change by noon then. Sean, you alright?”
“I’m fine.” I nodded. “Let me get those constellations up and get out of your way.” Brian nodded, and I headed off to a secluded corner so that I wouldn’t interrupt the flow they were building. Once again I marveled at the ease with which I could call forth constellations and get them to cover the entire city, and I checked the equipment that Lothian had made.
Stargazer’s Diadem
Imperial rank (gold)
Created by master craftsman Lothian, this diadem has been enchanted to bring one more into alignment with the heavenly bodies. The mithril supports are laced with mana veins and opals taken from the body of a monster that had absorbed four elemental essences for nearly 500 years. Sparkles deep within the opals are reminiscent of stars being born in colorful nebulae.
Effects:
Mana cost for celestial spells reduced by 10%
Maximum number of celestial spells cast at one time increased by 1
Greatly reduces strain from holding celestial spells for extended periods
Elementalist’s Necklace
Imperial rank (gold)
Created by master craftsman Lothian, this necklace is brimming with elemental power. Silver chain encircles shards of opal harvested from a monster that absorbed four elemental essences for nearly 500 years. The central portion is the core of the monster, and the silver holding it in place has been inscribed with the names of the elements and their combinations.
Effects:
Mana cost for elemental spells reduced by 30% (see note)
Spell damage increased by 30%
Recover 10% of the mana used from enemy spells
Note: Affected elements: Earth, air, fire and water.
Should a spell contain a portion of these elements, mana cost will be reduced by element ratio. Example: A spell that is 10% fire, 90% light will have the mana cost reduced by 3%