Summoner school 5 a reve.., p.25
Summoner School 5: A Reverse Portal Fantasy, page 25
“Magic doesn’t work like that,” Rarus snorted and shook his giant horned head. “It either chooses you, or it doesn’t. There are even minotaurs that barely have any mana in them. Humans are just the one species that magic doesn’t usually go after. Of course, when it does, they tend to be very powerful. Like Kruwyn.”
“And Andrew,” Ramis said with a pointed stare at his brother.
Rarus shrugged and rolled his eyes like the bull-man didn’t want to admit the truth, but everyone else nodded in agreement with Ramis. It was clear that I had a lot of talent, and my grandmother must have been just as talented if she’d been used as a hunter for the council. The stubborn minotaur could deny it all he wanted, but I knew for a fact that he respected my abilities.
“What are we going to do?” Atlesia asked and shifted in my lap to look in my eyes. “If the technomages and the cultists are working together, then there’s no telling what kind of an army they’ll have.”
“She’s right,” Sarya frowned. “Lord Merith trains all of the magical council’s soldiers. My father still isn’t sure how many of them will follow the council and how many will go with the cultists, but their loyalty to the traitor is strong.”
“And my spies have noticed a lot of movement in the technomage bases,” Tanner said.
All eyes turned to the gray-haired gnome as he shifted and reached for a glass of water. The spies that Tanner had sent out into the world had been given strict orders just to watch and report back, but it might be time for them to try and sabotage some of the bases. The warrior seemed to agree with me, because there was a fire in his eyes as he met my gaze.
“How many soldiers?” I asked.
“Hundreds,” Tanner said. “But quickly growing into the thousands. They’re not being nearly as careful. And something kicked the hornet’s nest yesterday. My scouts have counted at least three new bases in major cities around the world, and I think there might be more popping up in the next few days. The humans haven’t figured it out yet, but even if they do, then they’ll just think it’s some new mercenary group and not a fight between magical beings.”
I tapped my foot and tried to remember the map that had been plastered to the wall in the lab. There were a lot of pushpins scattered around the world in varying colors, but what each one represented was beyond me. I guessed that the black ones were where the shadow creatures had been spotted since those were familiar, but the blue and green ones could be anything from bases to weapons’ silos.
“We need to be smart about this,” I said and took a deep breath. “We don’t want to trigger the war before it’s absolutely necessary, but we also need to prepare for the eventual attack. It wouldn’t hurt for us to have some weapons. And I don’t want us to fight in the human realm unless it’s out of the way so that innocent civilians aren’t caught in the crossfire.”
“What are you thinking?” Ira asked.
“I think that first we need intel,” I said and looked around at everyone. “And we need to prepare an army of our own.”
“The minotaurs will join,” Rarus said.
“I’d be willing to bet that their first strike will come from the sea,” Ramis said with a thoughtful expression. “That has to be why the monsters have been out more, and even the sirens have been more restless, like they know something is about to happen. Some of them will join up with the cultists, I’m sure, but the rest of the merpeople will side with the nine realms. I have a friend--”
“An ex,” his brother interrupted. “But you’re right, I’m sure Ariel will help. And her father is a noble. I still can’t believe you dated a noblewoman, and a fish at that.”
“She was in her human form when we hung out together,” the younger minotaur huffed as a blush crawled up his tanned neck. “That’s not the point. Ariel and her people will help us from under the sea.”
“And our people will help from the shoreline,” Rarus said.
“I’ll go tell my father everything that we know,” Sarya said. “He needs to be updated. And I’ll try to get some more information out of him about the amulet. At the very least, I can make sure that there’s absolutely no chance that another one like your grandmother’s was ever made.”
“Good,” I nodded and downed a glass of water. “I’m sure that Lord Merith will help Joe and Charles create some amulets, but hopefully none of those will open the purgatory realm. If the dream was correct, then this amulet, and the one in the council’s vault, should be the only ones that exist. That means that the shadow creatures that are in the nine realms right now aren’t coming from the prison world.”
“I wonder if you can breed them,” Franny spoke up. “They have to reproduce somehow, right? That or they’re just immortal unless someone manages to kill them.”
“They could reproduce asexually,” Atlesia said. “Or like plants that have a piece cut off and can grow from that. I bet we could figure it out if we managed to trap one.”
“I think we could even create a room for it in the corpse flower greenhouse,” the tree-woman said and stood. “We can have it surrounded by light so that if they do reproduce we can kill them all before they can get out. Like a kill switch.”
“And the corpse flower pollen will be a secondary safety system,” my girlfriend said as she hopped off of my lap. “Let’s go right now.”
“You’ll need to know what light spectrums to use,” Rina said from her spot next to Tanner. “I’ll come with you. Mike can stay here and work on our weapons supplies. We’ve made at least two more of the shotguns, but if we need enough for an army, then we’ll have to bring in the rest of the gnomes.”
“And that’s where I come in,” Tanner said and got to his feet. “I’ll talk to the council and let them know the situation. The gnomes will be more than happy to help take down the technomages. My spies can test the shotguns and shells.”
“They’ll have to get past all of the shields,” Stacy said from the floor. “I can give you a list of supplies that I’ll need to make targets. I didn’t create the shield designs, but it’s not difficult to replicate. We might even be able to disrupt the light flow with the same shells that will kill the shadow creatures.”
I turned my attention to the amulet as the blue swirls started to move. It had been on the kitchen table next to a plate of dinner rolls, but I snatched it up before the heat could burn a hole through the wood. I checked through the windows in the front of the cabin to make sure that none of the shadow creatures had found us, but the warmth from the moonstone faded as a piece of paper floated onto my plate.
It was an invitation to another one of the underground arena fights, and a quick look around the room showed that Rarus and Ramis had received one, too. The minotaurs had both double-checked their pockets, and I was glad that I wasn’t the only one that had been given the password and location. The handwriting was unmistakably that of the ringmaster, and we all knew that he worked with the mysterious mage in charge of the cultists.
“Looks like we have somewhere to be tonight,” I said and stood to stretch.
The ointment that Franny had brought sat on one of the cots next to a fresh set of bandages, but the small paper cuts from Storm had all but healed. It probably helped that Mike had forced mana tea down my throat so that my body would repair itself faster, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. My injuries would be practically gone by the midnight fight, and the address was for the elven realm, so if things got out of hand, then Katar could come with his men.
“This is a trap,” Rarus said and held up the invitation. “They know that we killed the headmaster. They have to.”
“It’s definitely a trap,” I said. “Especially since Jason is with them. That traitor probably told them everything that he learned about us, but he doesn’t know everything. And he clearly underestimates us.”
A wave of nervous energy washed through the room as the fight became a little more real. If we didn’t show up to the underground arena, then there was no telling what Jason and the other cultists would do. The location in the caves below the elven city couldn’t be a coincidence, and I had no doubt that they planned to murder us and lay us at Lord Kaylen’s feet as a warning, but I’d make sure that wouldn’t happen.
“I’m going to go back to the school,” Ira said and ran a hand over her tight black dress. “Jason may know that I have some involvement in this, and if he’s going after you, then he may come after Magia Schola. I’m the headmistress now, so it’s my duty to protect the few students and staff there.”
“I’ll send Tins,” Tanner said. “He and Rils will be more than enough to help you defend the school.”
“There are some professors that I know are loyal,” the dragon-woman said. “I’ll call them to a meeting. Have Tins and Rils come directly to my office. There won’t be any ogre guards now that Alec is gone, so they should be fine to pass.”
“Great,” the old gnome said. “I’ll talk to the council and let them know that the cultists and technomages might be trying to make a move tonight.”
“I should go tell Bubba,” Stacy said and clambered to her feet. “He deserves to be a part of this. And he’ll be able to help us with the shotgun and shells. There are also a bunch of supernatural creatures in the village who would have no problem getting a little vengeance after what happened with Bubba’s family. It’s a pretty tight-knit community.”
“We’ll go back to talk to our people before the fight,” Rarus said. “We’ll meet you there. Act like we don’t know each other. Jason and the cultists seem to keep everything close to the vest, so I don’t want to let everyone in the underground arena know that we’re on the same side until we absolutely have to. It might give us at least a small element of surprise.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said.
“I’ll talk to my father and meet you there,” Sarya said. “I think Rarus is right. Jason will use the cover of the underground arena to attack each of you. The ringmaster will probably have some kind of fight set up with an opponent that’s really part of the cult. Most of the people that come to the illegal fights are powerful, and they hate the council, but they’re not exactly the type to go against the nine realms. They just want to rebel a little.”
“But they could be convinced,” I said. “Probably not the giants since that would mean bowing down to the cultists, and the dwarves might be hard to convince, but ultimate power can be alluring. We can’t take the chance that they won’t stock the whole place with allies, so bring your best spells.”
“Everyone take some of the tea,” Mike said and started to pass out small bags of the mana tea. “And don’t complain about the taste. If we’re going into an ambush, then we need to be prepared.”
“You’re coming?” I laughed and looked at the tree-man. “I thought you hated it.”
“I do,” my roommate said. “But I’m not going to let all of you go by yourselves. The cave in the elven realm had some roots from the tall trees on the surface, and I can use those if needed.”
“And I’ll grab some more of the corpse flower seeds,” Atlesia said.
I grinned at the friends that I’d made and nodded as the plan came together. There was no doubt in my mind that Sarya would join us, especially after the redheaded elf reached over to squeeze my hand. I didn’t like the idea of all of us heading into a trap, but there was nothing that could beat us when we were all together.
“Alright,” I said. “I’ll see you guys at midnight.”
Everyone hurried out into the clearing to go their separate ways while I stayed behind at the base. The wraiths had come back to gather around the edges of the shield, but most of them huddled together on the opposite side from where Fluffy was sprawled out in the grass. Sarya was the last person to leave, but then I was completely alone for the first time in weeks.
Storm floated out of the cabin to land on my shoulder like a parrot, and I could feel her concern through our mental link. The wind elemental’s ability to understand us was better than Bane’s perceptions, but the council still didn’t consider them sentient creatures because they didn’t seem to communicate with anyone else. The tiny woman was definitely smart enough to be considered an intelligent life, and a pang of guilt shot through me at having captured her in the first place.
A small hand patted the side of my face as Storm tried to comfort me, and a picture of the technomage base popped up in my head. The elemental was clearly pleased with the arrangement because there was an excited thrill to the memory as if she never would’ve been able to do something like that on her own.
“You’re right,” I said and flashed a smile. “You are more powerful now, but I don’t think that I’ll be collecting any more elementals. It’s just too close for comfort.”
Fluffy looked up from where he’d sprawled out in the grass and then wagged his massive tail a few times. The banehound’s demeanor was so different now that it was hard to believe he was the same cranky wolf that had tried to eat me so many times. He hopped up and jogged over to the pile of leftover boards from rebuilding the cabin, grabbed a log that had been stashed there, and brought it over to me like a request for us to play fetch.
“Just a few times,” I chuckled and reached down to heft up the giant stick. “I need to save my energy for tonight.”
Storm took over for me after the first throw and was able to toss the log like it was nothing at all while I grabbed some of the mana tea. Mike had stashed so much in the cabinets that I was able to create an entire bag of mana stones, drink more of the noxious brew, and then refill my mana pools to a hundred percent before Mike, Atlesia, and Sarya popped back in. I felt like I’d had three energy drinks back to back, but there was enough magic in my body, and in my pouch, for whatever Jason and the cultists decided to throw at us.
“Are we ready to go?” I asked as my friends gathered around me.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Mike shrugged.
“Let’s go kick some cultist butt,” Atlesia grinned and bounced on the balls of her feet.
“My father is waiting for my command,” Sarya said. “If there’s trouble, then Katar and his men will be there to help us.”
“Perfect,” I said and pulled the amulet out of my pocket, grinned as Storm alighted on my shoulder, and then turned to Fluffy. “Keep the place safe until we get back.”
The banehound nodded his massive head and then plopped down in front of the cabin like the world’s largest guard dog. His sides heaved with exertion from playing with Storm for so long, but the wind elemental didn’t seem to be fazed. Fluffy let his acidic spit covered tongue hang out as he watched us stroll through the portal like we weren’t walking into a trap, and I gave him one last smile just in case it was the last time we saw him.
The location for the underground arena was a little further from the capital city than the last fight, though that was probably because Jason didn’t want Lord Kaylen to be able to interrupt. The invitation had opened a portal directly into the mouth of a cave, and I could just barely see the lights from the palace through the waterfall that covered it. There would be no way for someone to accidentally spot the gathering of fighters, and that was no doubt part of the plan.
“Password,” a dark green ogre snapped at me.
I looked up into the ogre’s dark red eyes and could see just how much he wanted to punch me through a wall. There were other sets of glowing red eyes throughout the cave as if the guards from Magia Schola had all come to the underground arena, and all of them looked like they wanted a piece of us after we’d brought down Alec Enzaron. I forced an easy-going smile and showed the invitation with the password like this wasn’t a trap and then strolled through the door in the back.
The setup for the underground arena was almost the exact same no matter what realm we were in, and the giant iron cage in the middle looked like the one that had been installed in the giant realm. The inside of the cave was big enough that it could’ve come from the frosty mountains instead of the warm cliffs of the elven realm, but that only meant that there would be more room to move around later when the real fight broke out.
A bar was staged in one corner of the room, and a green-skinned nymph already poured heavy ales for the dwarves and the ogres that had come to see the fights. Rarus and Ramis were at the counter with untouched drinks in their beefy hands, and the bartender blushed as the younger minotaur flirted shamelessly. She was too busy with the other summoner to notice Mike, Sarya, and Atlesia slowly spread out through the room, and the drunken patrons were all too rowdy to pay much attention to anyone that wouldn’t be in the cage at some point.
“Mr. Hall,” the ringmaster said as he bustled up to me. “I was so hoping that you’d come tonight. Rarus and Ramis have already signed up for fights. It’s been too long since we’ve all been together. Sadly, most of the fairies and nymphs couldn’t make it since they’re still mourning the loss of the great Alec Enzaron. Of course, that’s all the more reason for us to battle today, isn’t it? We should celebrate the life of that great mage who did so much for the battle magic program, and in turn, for my underground arena.”
The gnome winked at me and then threw his head back to laugh like he’d told the best joke in the entire world. The traitorous man had been a sore spot for Tanner, but even the old warrior would concede that the ringmaster was nothing if not charismatic. He clearly didn’t want to let me know that it was a trap, but I knew better than to trust him even on a good day. But I played along and chuckled at his humor, and then let my attention drift over the group of people gathered around the cave like I was only mildly curious to know who had shown up.
There were barely any nymphs or fairies as the ringmaster had said, but there were plenty of dwarves that looked like they’d seen better days and enough ogres to build an army. I spotted a couple of giants in the corner, but not nearly as many as usual, and I made a mental note to put them down first if they joined in whatever battle was about to take place.
