Battle of Erise Village
You walk halfway, and then find a suitable rock to sit on. This is as far as you go.
“Tired already?” Rin asks.
“Something like that,” you say lazily. “You can go ahead, but I think it would be better if we dragged it out a little. The prince might not appreciate it if we finished too quickly.” As long as he can get clear of the village, you are certain you can protect him. In that case, you might as well extract the maximum gratitude out of him for your aid by having him in a really precarious position. If you are going to get yourself involved in troublesome matters, you might as well make good use of it.
“Ah.” Rin nods. “You want the prince to appreciate you more. Got it.”
“…something like that, yes.” Somehow, Rin has reacted more favourably than you expected. Is she finally warming up to you? Ah, baby steps work after all. You always knew they would.
“Don’t worry, you can leave it to me, I know what to do. I’ll start by mopping up the trash on the outskirts as quietly as I can,” says Rin reassuringly. Maybe she isn’t as dense or as blunt as she appears to be after all.
“Great. Good luck, and stay safe.”
She snorts and leaves. ‘As if these things can do anything to me’ appears to be her default attitude.
“Why are we waiting here, sir?” asks Aria.
You turn, looking at her from under your hood. “Because there’s no need to go all the way. The prince will come meet us halfway, like any good partner should do.”
“Partner, huh?” Aria seems to be taking your words seriously, and begins to think about what your actions mean. Meanwhile, you stretch out your hand and begin to quietly call out the wolves. One, two, three… ten… twenty… fifty. The large pack of electric wolves, sparks coursing along their fur, stand at attention while watching you intently.
Aria and Arlin let out a gasp of awe. “They’re… pretty…” mutters Arlin. “I don’t suppose we could…”
“If you touch them, you’ll get a nasty shock. I’ve known some men who were into that sort of thing. Paid well for it too. But I’m not too sure you kids are ready for it yet,” you say matter-of-factly.
“So we are sending these to help the Prince run over to us?” Aria murmurs, trying to understand your plan. “Is that why we just need to wait here?”
“Maybe.” You do not commit to an answer. “Situations change and plans can blow up in your face.”
Sometimes literally.
It soon becomes clear to you that Farland would be unable to cut his way free from the village without your support. It was an expected outcome. His men, while not entirely encircled, are too preoccupied defending themselves from the relentless assault to mount a proper retreat. The only reason they are still alive at the moment is because the mages have not yet entered firing range: once they do, they would rain down a storm of magic on him and it would be over. There is no sign of Rin yet, so she seems to be keeping her word.
“S-Sir, the prince is in danger!” exclaims Arlin. “Are we going to help?”
“Yes. The time is now.” As the enemy soldiers begin to tighten their cordon, you give the signal.
You send ten of the summoned wolves springing into action, their fur a blazing, crackling blue as they go on the hunt.
They leap amongst the enemy and charge their way through to Farland’s aid, bringing down a few troops along the way. Though surprised by the sudden appearance of the wolves, the prince acts quickly. He takes advantage of the temporary confusion in the enemy ranks and begins his charge, accompanied by the wolves. You use the summoned beasts to guide Farland’s way through the maze of burning huts, leading them in your direction. As you expected, upon realizing that mundane swords and spears have no effect, the distant mages react accordingly and use the spell that you had seen in the ruins to enhance their comrades’ equipment. You take out your notebook and begin jotting down some quick observations: more than one mage seems to have contributed to the spell, meaning that they can cast magic as a team. Does it empower their spells?
Quickly, two of the outnumbered wolves fall while taking the blows meant for the prince and his knights. All ten of them, eleven including his adjutant, twelve with the prince counted – they are still alive and mostly unharmed.
You have the remaining wolves explode in a blaze of suicidal glory. This is enough. The prince bursts free of the ambush, his knights galloping close behind him. The enemy gives chase, but their horsemen are not as skilled and begin to fall behind. Their arrows too fall astray from their mark or are turned away by the knights’ armour.
Then, a rain of magic bolts slam into the ground all around Farland, forcing him to stop. One of the Methussian knights is knocked off his horse and lies flat on the ground, unmoving. The mages have finally come into range.
“Oh no!” exclaims Aria. “He’s trapped! Do we rush in to save him?”
“Well, I’m not rushing anywhere for anyone’s sake.”
Right now the enemy has mostly gathered in two large groups: the initial party of enemy footmen and horsemen right on the prince’s tail, and flanking him off to one side, a mixed group of soldiers and mages. Each group probably has at least one commander of its own. You need to buy more time for Farland to retreat: that meant defending against the enemy’s long-ranged magic attacks while slowing down the ones on his tail. At times like this, you wonder if you should have paid more attention to defensive magic. Still, you think you can probably figure something with out. Sitting on the rock cross-legged, you divide the remaining wolves into equally sized packs and send twenty towards each group.
The distraction works. The sight of more of those animals howling towards them successfully draws enemy fire away from Farland and towards your summoned creatures. He does not waste the opportunity to get moving – though not before ensuring that the knight who was downed has been tied back onto his horse. How noble of him.
The second wave of wolves that you send out do not last long, and do not inflict too much casualties on the enemy. You summon the next set of fifty wolves, materializing them out of thin air, and send them off to circle around the soldiers before they notice. They begin to advance again, closing on Farland. Almost there, but it is too late. Farland approaches the rock along with his knights, excitement streaming off of him. “Sir mage! You have saved my life! I will remember this as long as I live!” he shouts gratefully. “Let all of you be witness to my oath-“
“You might want to stand behind me. All of you,” you sigh, impatiently waving them back before they get into trouble.
A streak of firebolts meant for the prince and his knights crash harmlessly against your Globe of Invulnerability. The mages will have clearly noticed your presence now, but they will still need to get past you to reach Farland. You expect them to be preparing for a magic battle even as you make your next move.
Now the first group of pursuers are in your range. “Get that hooded man sitting on the rock!” you hear someone roar.
Let thoughts be crippled with dread; fear is the mind-killer. “Spell Maximize. Spell Extend. Fear.” Perched on your rock, you gesture at the enemy horse closest to you. It takes effect instantly; the horse rears, throwing the rider off and trampling him as it runs in the other direction. This causes the other horses to falter, though to their equine credit they do not break. Now that they have slowed down, you can target them more easily with your next spell.
Many dreams for many minds; all men slumber in sleep eternal. “Spell Maximize. Spell Extend. Mass Sleep.” The soldiers and horses crumple to the ground unnaturally, falling asleep in the wink of an eye. You do not manage to target all of them, but enough that their numbers are cut down to a quarter of their former strength. And even those still awake are confused, trying to decide between helping their brethren and continuing the chase. The choice is taken away from them when a snarling pack of wolves leap into the fray. At the same time, the other pack strikes at the mages in a suicide attack. The barrier doesn’t make it up in time before the wolves explode.
You summon a third pack, and send them off again.
“Sir mage… just how many of these creatures do you have?” asks Farland, mesmerized.
You hunch down over the rock, glancing at him, and shake your head. “Enough.” It is already enough of a chore focusing your effort on coordinating this many wolves; you don’t want to have to answer too many questions at the same time.
“I… I see. I will not pry,” he replies apologetically.
The third pack continues to harass the enemy, forcing them to move closer together while giving the mages no time to bombard you with spells. However, they seem to have strengthened their barrier against mental attacks after seeing what you did to the first group: your spells of sleep and fear no longer work on them. You wonder where Rin is. If she wants to jump in, now is the perfect time. In fact, you thought she would have arrived by now. She couldn’t have run into trouble, could she?
You shake your head, dispelling the silly idea. Rin is strong enough. And anything that could give her trouble would probably attract attention instantly… something like a dragon the size of a mountain, or perhaps a good-looking, popular hero with very flashy lightning magic.
Another wave of magical bombardment comes your way, and are again blocked easily by your defenses. If these low-level bolts are all their mages can muster for long-range attacks, you could probably wipe them out quickly if you decide to go on the offensive. You begin to consider whether you should expend more of your mana on wolves while waiting for Rin to clean them up, or take action on your own. Two more summons and you would be at half of your magical capacity.
“Is everything going to be okay?” whispers Arlin.
You are beginning to wonder. Where is Rin?
A dark thought flashes in your mind: could she have betrayed you? Just like the others?
In the chaotic battle, you see seven mages chanting, preparing an unknown spell. They are being defended from your wolves by a group of well-armoured guards and a woman wearing a cloak similar in pattern to yours – a commander, perhaps? You do not get the tingling sense of intense, concentrated magic that you normally would from a powerful spell, however; you are uncertain whether it is something to worry about, or if they are – judging from their past performance – merely going to try and hit you with a mere Storm-class magic.
If only you had some way to identify and analyze magic on the fly. You sigh. That would make things a lot easier. A lot less troublesome.
“Men, if you are rested, let us go back into the fray!” shouts Farland. His men respond with good cheer, apparently unfazed by the near shave they just had with death. Evidently, he senses that something is off with the plan at the moment. “You need a hammer to crush them while they are distracted, do you not?” grins the prince winningly. “My men and I can do it.”
***
A. You order Farland to go ahead and retreat first, just to get him out of your way. You have successfully lured the enemy out of the village, into your sight – you think you have identified about ninety percent of their forces – and their attention is quite likely focused on you at the moment. Once he is clear, you will wipe them out quickly and then figure out what Rin is up to and where she is. You can always pay your respects at the capital at a later time to claim your reward.
B. You continue what you are doing, except with Farland and his knights replacing Rin. Their first task will be to disrupt the mages from finishing their spell. If you can keep on distracting and harrying the enemy with your wolves, they should be able to do an adequate job of replacing her. Though it would of course be more risky, putting the prince back in harm’s way when you had just gotten him out of it.
C. You get up from the rock and prepare to unleash your power with Farland by your side. It is fine: let him witness your strength and be awed. You have nothing to hide. This will only enhance your reputation further, and perhaps even increase his goodwill towards you.
