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Part 34 - Plans and Predicaments

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Part 33 - Designs and Delays

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With everyone aware of the plan, Hartelos fired an arrow at the path. It landed near the edge of a puddle, and with Silgren already prepared, he activated the magic within it. A flash of light enveloped the area momentarily but was quickly obscured by an explosion of water. A hail of water, mud, and rocks rained down all over the main path. The water-wisp's promptly reacted, flickering in anger and curiosity while converging on the location. The two they couldn't see emerged from behind the log cabin and arrived first to investigate but found nothing aside from a crater in the path. When the other three joined them, the first two raised the intensity of their magical blue glow and held it. The others joined them and matched the glow's brightness.

“Hold!” instructed Silgren, suspecting their behaviour wasn't entirely copacetic with the plan in place. “What in the Twelve are they doing?” Silgren scanned the area - his heart sank, and he pointed past them. It was then that they all noticed that off to the far right, across the path to the south-west, a gathering of six, seven, or more wisps scattered about the area. This second grouping of wisps had increased in brightness to match and held it. This appeared to be some manner of response. The glow pierced through the obscuring rain, enough to be visible from afar, and it became apparent they were on their way over.

Part 34 - Plans and Predicaments

Observing the wisps to be gathered close together, Hartelos sought to leverage the opportunity. “A series of ranged attacks may provide us with the advantage. We're bound to hit a few of them." Thinking it a solid plan, he removed three arrows from his quiver and set them down in the grass.

Silgren chimed in, hoping to bolster the plan's effectiveness. “I may be able to create a diversion to confuse them.” He reached into his pack of scrolls and pulled out two, wrapped in blue twine. “I'm going to backtrack a bit until the building obscures their line of sight... and then get in close.” Mayval seemed to want to protest, but the situation was dire as is. Silgren backed up into the grass, “Wait for the signal.” As Silgren moved Eastward while remaining low, the group waited in anticipation for him to get into position.

Mayval signalled for Yavahne's attention, “Have another bolt ready. We only get one shot at this.” Yavahne nodded, set a spare bolt down in front of her, then wiped her forehead.

Silgren was now moving swiftly alongside the stone house. He stopped momentarily by a window to peer inside then continued onward to the side of the log cabin opposite the path. The larger group of wisps were quickly closing the distance between them and the others, flickering their glow more frequently in response to their increasing curiosity.

Mayval, Yavahne, and Hartelos prepared their aim in anticipation of the signal, then a tremendous outburst of fiery light came from within the log cabin. Mayval furrowed her brow at the overt display - Silgren's signal was so blatantly obvious the whole area could've been alerted. The first volley was in the air before the nearest group of wisps could react to the roaring fire. An anxious silence befell them as Hartelos held his breath, everyone's sights fixated on the targets. A moment later, two of the water-wisp's exploded violently, followed by another explosion that opened a second crater in the path. Water, dirt, and pebbles showered the area sending the remaining three into a frenzy of angered flickers.

Silgren held his ground, peeked through a shattered window into the cabin and felt a sense of relief that he couldn't see anyone inside. He once again focused his mind onto the fireplace, and the fire roared forth once again. Smoke filled the cabin. It poured from the roof, damaged walls and appeared to attract the fiends' attention. Two of the remaining three moved out of sight and toward the front door. One after the other, they blasted the door creating a large opening through which they could enter. A second explosion went off on the trail, just short of the fiend which remained. Aggravated and perplexed, it blasted the side of the cabin. Moments later, the seven other fiends arrived.

From a distance, Hartelos could see the gathering of eight water elementals behaving in a bewildering manner. They'd split into two equal groups and then started to make contact with each other, varying their brightness between an immense shine, and a barely visible dimmed glow. There was no safe means by which any of them could communicate to Silgren his current predicament. To make things worse, he was still preoccupied with the view inside the cabin.

Silgren's focus was unbroken as two water-wisps entered the cabin, their blue, magical shimmer illuminating the inside. With the two water scrolls clutched tightly in his left hand, and his mind's eye reciting the symbolic form of the words, he called forth the magic within. Merobaku's teachings had come a long way, it seemed, as Silgren backed away from the cabin and spotted a massive orb of swirling water gathering above the cabin. The scrolls seemed to help convey the symbolic form of the recital, allowing one to redirect concentration into symbolic imagery and intention. The fireplace's radiance had diminished while Silgren's focus was on the water enchantment. “I hope this works,” muttered Silgren, as his intent directed the volume of accumulated water down onto the cabin's roof with a terrifying crash. The ceiling of the cabin caved in on top of the two wisps. The walls shifted outward, and water poured from the windows, holes, and spaces between the damaged logs.

“By the Twelve!” exclaimed Hartelos, while a look of shock and dismay washed over him. His bow lowered, and the colour drained from his face. It hadn't been Silgren's display of newfound magical capabilities that caused him to cry out, and it wasn't apparent to Mayval or Yavahne either until they'd both looked over at him and traced his gaze back to the group of fiends.

Source Image - Pixabay

The two gatherings of fiends were now barely visible. A swell of water bigger than any individual fiend was forming in the center of each grouping. Two separate bursts of light radiated throughout the entire area, which forced Mayval, Yavahne, and Hartelos to shield their eyes. Silgren glanced up at the sky as the massive source of light illuminated the heavy rain clouds above, and for a moment, he believed he'd failed.

“Silgren! Run!” cried out a voice from the edge of the tall grass.

Silgren was shaken from his skyward distraction and found himself backing up alongside the stone house. He almost fell over, then he felt something grab his shoulder. When he spun around, he expected a fight or the sudden, cold embrace of a mortal wound. Instead, he was face to face with a young woman.

“It's time to go, Silgren. We appreciate your help out here.” She smiled at him and tugged his sleeve to redirect his attention. She pointed back towards his friends by the grass-line. When Silgren looked over, he spotted a man with a child in his arms, running towards his friends. An older child was right along beside them. “We'd taken shelter in the cellar,” she informed him, clearly still quite shaken. “It started to flood with water when we heard the commotion out here. When I came upstairs and noticed you by the window, I was so rel-” She'd cut herself short, her eyes widened and locked onto something behind Silgren.

When Silgren turned around, he was shocked to see a water-wisp of considerable size. By his guess, it had to be over three times the size of the others. Another one rounded the corner of the destroyed log cabin and caught up to the first. The young woman and Silgren stared at these monstrous creatures. These fiends seemed to take a moment to analyze the beings that had been causing them such trouble, but the moment was short-lived. The tell-tale flicker of one set the other into action, and both fiends began precipitating a collection of large, icy daggers.

Awaken

Part 01 - Message to Orvus
Part 02 - The Lake Beckons
Part 03 - Night of Rest
Part 04 - The Tomb's Secret
Part 05 - The Deep Gouge
Part 06 - Dismay Down Deep
Part 07 - Orvus Restores Order
Part 08 - Magic Sans Scroll

Part 09 - Clear Path Provided
Part 10 - Trace The Key
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Poem 01 - Immortals of the Aegis
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Part 11 - Eigin Rooted Magic
Part 12 - Ancient Koaj'kah Magic
Part 13 - Elemental Wisp Infestation
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Poem 02 - Elemental Call Song
--
Part 14 - Kogg's Aerial Ace
Part 15 - Fiendish Fiery Foe
Part 16 - Water Wisp Woe
Part 17 - Home Sweet Home
Part 18 - A Blessed Breakfast
Part 19 - Ships At Sea
Part 20 - Gifts And Favours
Part 21 - Tea By Flame
--
Poem 03 - In Verlys Valley
--
Part 22 – Command The Flame
Part 23 – Verge Of Discovery
Part 24 – Guispira Of Algen
Part 25 - An Alchemist's Toil
Part 26 - Seek The Symbols
Part 27 - Mayval's Farewell Gift
Part 28 - Sea's Horizon Quartet
Part 29 - Solidarity in Silence
Part 30 - Breakfast Before Dread
Part 31 - Rest and Reaction
Part 32 - Enchantments and Engagements
Part 33 - Designs and Delays
Part 34 - CURRENT

Cheers!

-hypexal-