Summoner school, p.9
Summoner School, page 9
“Need help?” Mike asked as he strolled over. “I believe that I can push it.”
“You might as well try,” the elven woman said and crossed her arms over her chest. “That door has practically become one with the wall.”
“The wood has started to grow around it,” the tree-man said in a thoughtful tone. “Someone did not want it opened. Let me see if I can just… ah… there we go. The tendrils have agreed to release their hold.”
“That’s really cool,” I said. “Can you talk to all the trees? Or does it have to be a specific type?”
“Most trees are amenable to conversation with my kind,” my roommate said and ducked through the small opening. “But there are some that do not like to talk. And others that are so grouchy that you wouldn’t want to talk to them.”
“Cool,” I said and followed him through the north wall. “I wonder if I can learn that.”
It took all of my self-control not to mention the Ents and ask if there was a language course, but I’d already seen how angry it made him the first time, and I wanted to remain friends with my roommate. The tall man blended in with the trees of the forest, but the veins in his bark-like skin began to glow a pale green as the last rays of daylight faded. Mike’s gaze followed mine, and he shook himself like a wet dog until what looked like spores fell off of him.
“Sorry about that,” the tree-man said. “I’ve been experimenting with a few new fungi. Apparently, the soup worked.”
“The soup?” I gaped. “I thought that you just soaked in sunlight like Atlesia.”
“I eat food, too,” the nymph girl protested. “Mostly berries. But I did warn you about the blood-eating plants earlier. There are plenty of flower nymphs that eat meat. It’s just that most of us eat fruit and vegetables.”
“Most of the tree-people consume sunlight for sustenance,” Mike said. “But I can eat fungi. It’s not pleasant, but it’s the same as drinking any tonic or water. You can think of it as a growing supplement. The mushroom that I used can glow in the dark, and it seems it shared those properties with me.”
“You’re a mad scientist,” I laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Just don’t eat anything that can kill you. And I’ll pass on the glowing mushroom soup.”
“Duly noted,” my roommate said with a grin.
“Are we going to talk about experiments and food, or are we going to actually go to the match?” Sarya huffed as she pulled the door closed behind her.
“Lead the way, my lady,” I said and swept my arm outward.
The trees around the north wall were all the same tall pines that I’d seen near the field, and their thin trunks looked even spookier at night. A few fireflies lit up the area in front of us as they began their nightly dance, and the branches of the trees stretched out like they might begin to twirl their sharp fingers at any moment. An owl hooted somewhere high above us, and something rustled a bush near us, but I refused to let the creepy forest get the better of my nerves.
“It’s right this way,” Sarya said and flounced to the front of the group. “The underground fight is back in my dimension, so we need to be far enough from the school that they won’t notice our departure.”
“I don’t think that they’ll care,” I said. “They didn’t mind me going back to my world last night.”
“Yeah, we’re not trapped,” Atlesia said and took my hand, looked up at me with an innocent smile, and then started to swing our linked arms. “We’re allowed to leave whenever we want. This is a school, not a prison.”
“We may be allowed to go wherever we want,” the haughty elf said and rolled her eyes. “But they still track us. If they realize that all of us have gone somewhere together, then they’ll be suspicious. It’s not like a Kaylen would just hang out with a human.”
“Of course not,” I said and rolled my eyes. “Because that would be ridiculous.”
“It would be,” Sarya said and stopped in front of a large trunk. “Here it is. It’s a portal to my dimension. They use it to bring supplies to the school.”
She lifted a delicate hand and placed it against the rough bark, whispered something in another language, and then stepped back. The tree shivered like it was cold, and the long branches moved above our heads in a sweeping gesture before they went still again. Sarya looked over her shoulder to watch my reaction as the trunk split open and silvery light poured out, but it was the same kind of door that I’d seen in video games, so I managed to keep a straight face despite how excited I was.
“Shall we?” I asked. “Ladies first.”
“The human knows some manners, shocking,” the redheaded woman said, but I saw the disappointment in her eyes. “This portal leads us straight into the main city. It’s late enough that no one should see us, but we’ll need to stick to the shadows as much as possible. We’re going to a side of town that a Kaylen should never visit.”
“And here I thought that you’d be eager to volunteer with the less fortunate,” I laughed.
I took a deep breath as I stepped up to the portal, and Atlesia squeezed my hand gently. This was probably nothing new to the flower nymph, but even she bounced up and down with nervous energy. I flashed her a reassuring smile and then stepped into the silvery light.
The portal didn’t act anything like the amulet as it transported us from one dimension to another. Nothing tugged on me like a stone at the end of a string, and the door just vanished once we were through it. The only reaction my body had to the change of scenery was a knot in the pit of my stomach, but then Sarya opened another door, and we stepped into the streets of a city.
Tall apartment buildings that looked like something from the Italian countryside rose out of pristine city streets and mingled with shops that had swinging signs out front. All of the painted wooden doors were closed, but the homes next to them were lit with flames covered in different colored glass. Stone balconies laden with wisteria and ivy vines hung above our heads, and I could hear laughter from the one across the street.
A full moon cast silvery light the same color as the portal, and a smaller crescent moon cast a glimmer of purple on the flowers. Sarya motioned for us to follow her down one of the cobblestone streets, and thankfully, Atlesia still had my hand because my head was on a swivel as I tried to take everything in. The buildings all had the same arches that the campus had, but there were tall spires covered in flowering vines, and thin waterways cut through the city to carry cargo and gondolas.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Sarya asked with a faint smile.
“It is,” I said and then pulled my attention away from what looked like a palace. “I kind of pictured that the elves would have cities in the forest like in Lord of the Rings.”
“There are some,” the elven woman said as she led us down another street. “But my home is the capital. We have cliffs and flowers and waterfalls. The buildings match perfectly with the landscape. It’s truly the best place in all of the dimensions.”
“It is really pretty,” Atlesia said. “I noticed that some of the vines have fluorescent pollen and bioluminescent flowers. Do you think that we could check those out at some point? We have a few in my hometown, but I’m always eager to learn about new species. Do they grow fruit?”
“We won’t have the time,” the redhead sighed. “But, if you aren’t completely insufferable, then maybe we can come back some time.”
“Thanks,” the flower nymph said and rolled her eyes. “I can always just come back with Andrew and Mike. We don’t need your escort. I wouldn’t want to take up too much time from the wonderful Sarya Kaylen.”
“I wouldn’t mind coming back,” I said before the two women could start a real argument.
“There are not a lot of trees,” Mike pointed out. “And the earth is too compacted for them to grow. I can almost feel the limestone beneath us.”
“You’re right,” Sarya said and flipped her ponytail, glared at Atlesia, and then looked at the tree-man. “Most of the trees live on the side of the cliff. You’ll see a few on the way to the arena. We’re almost there. We just need to take this staircase down, and the door is right behind one of those waterfalls.”
The stairs were barely a foot wide and were cut into the side of the limestone. There were no guard rails or even ropes to keep us from plummeting down to the river below, and the spray from the nearby waterfall made the limestone slick. A few of the fluorescent flowers clung to the rocky wall to give us some light, but for the most part it was covered in darkness, and I wondered how anyone bigger than an elf could climb down them without impending death.
“Right,” I said and squared my shoulders, cleared my throat, and followed after Atlesia.
“I do not like being underground,” Mike said as we carefully picked our way down to the waterfall. “Trees are meant to be above the earth, not underneath it.”
“There are plenty of caves that are big enough to grow trees,” I pointed out. “And we’ll only be here for a few hours. Besides, I thought that you wanted to meet some traders for your mushroom collection.”
“You’re not wrong,” the tall man sighed. “But I don’t think I’ll be coming back unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
An opening to a cave sat behind the waterfall, and I let out a relieved sigh when my feet hit more solid ground. The steps had been terrifying, and my heart raced like I’d just run a marathon, but the excitement of being in an elven world outweighed my terror. I’d played almost every RPG game that I could find with fantastical worlds, but it was completely different now that I was actually in one, and even the dangerous parts wouldn’t scare me away.
“Password?” a guard asked as he stepped out from the shadows.
His skin was a muted green like swamp water, and bright red eyes peered down at us. Two large tusks protruded from a big bottom lip and a flat nose. His hands were big enough that I was sure he could crush my skull in one. I’d never seen an ogre outside of video games, but there was no way to deny the creature in front of me was one.
“Wyvern,” Sarya said with a bright smile.
The ogre grunted and motioned to the back of the cave before he became one with the darkness again, and I searched the shadows for any signs of him. I made a mental note to read up on ogres and find out if they could all do that, or if it was a skill that this particular man had learned. It would be fantastic if I could learn that, especially if being a summoner meant dangerous hunts with prey that had better eyesight.
“I’ve never been to anything like this before,” Atelsia whispered as we neared a stone wall.
“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” I said and then pulled my other hand out of my pocket. “I snuck one of the rat spells, a crystal, and some rat’s tail with me. If anything happens, then I can use it as a distraction so that we can make a run for it.”
“Good,” the flower nymph said, and the worry lines between her eyes smoothed out. “I knew that you’d have a plan. My papa said that humans always do.”
“But will it be a good one?” the haughty elf asked.
Sarya smirked at me and then walked through the stone wall like it was nothing, and a dark gray light rippled away from the spot where she disappeared. I glanced at Mike and Atlesia, took a deep breath, and then stepped through the fake door and into an underground bar.
Noise assaulted me the second I was through the barrier, and my eyes took a second to adjust to the bright lights that floated above everyone’s heads. The cave itself was as tall as a three-story building and wide enough that it could be a bunker in an apocalyptic movie. A bar was set up to the right of the entryway and was crowded with dwarves, ogres, and every other fairy-tale creature imaginable.
High top tables with wooden chairs were scattered around, and music came from a band of banshees to the right. In the exact center was a massive iron birdcage with windows along the bottom to allow for better viewing. There was already a fight in progress between what looked like an ogre and a giant, and neither of them seemed to have magic, but their beefy fists were more than enough to do damage.
“Hey there, cutie,” a drunken dwarf slurred and tumbled toward us, tried to slap Atlesia’s ass, and then glared at me when I blocked his hand.
“Hands off,” I said and reached into my pocket.
The puzzle for the rat had already been completed, so the only thing that I needed to do was dump the dried tail on it and use the quartz to summon it. I stepped between the dwarf and Atlesia, dropped her hand, and uncorked the bottle. The gem grew warm in my hand like it was ready to do its thing, and I glared down at the bearded man in challenge.
“Or what?” the guy laughed. “What’s a human going to do?”
“This,” I said and dumped the rat’s tail onto the paper.
A bright light shone through my pants pocket as the spell started to take shape, and I tugged the wiggling stone out of my pocket before it could take its final form. The quartz had been a little bigger than the one that I’d used in class, and the rat that formed was nothing like the cute white animal.
It was the length of my forearm with long pointed front teeth and a tail as thick as my pinky finger, and I could feel the aggression that rolled off of it. It snapped its teeth at me, dug its back claws into my hand, and then launched itself at the dwarf’s face.
Screams erupted from the drunken man as my summoned pet slashed and tore at his eyes. I heard something pop, and my stomach churned as blood leaked down the front of the guy’s face, but he managed to grab my rat and throw it against a wall so hard that the crystal cracked, and it disappeared. The dwarf’s face was shredded, and chunks of his beard were missing as he howled and tried to glare up at me with his one remaining eye.
“What’s going on here?” an ogre with bright red eyes asked.
“He tried to assault my friend,” I said with a shrug. “I was defending her.”
“He tried to grab my butt!” Atlesia shouted in a wobbly voice like she was about to cry.
“Is this true?” the guard asked and looked at Sarya.
“I didn’t see it,” the redhead said. “But I did hear the slap. My human was just doing what had to be done.”
“Right,” the big man said with a nod. “Alright, let’s get you out of here. Maybe you’ll have learned your lesson about touching what doesn’t belong to you.”
“You’re kicking me out?” the dwarf snapped as he was guided to the door. “That human’s pet tore out my eye.”
“Yeah, yeah, real tragedy,” the ogre said.
“Thank you so much,” Atlesia said and grabbed my hand again. “I was so scared.”
“No problem,” I said with a reassuring smile. “I thought dwarves were supposed to be able to handle their liquor.”
“Most can,” Sarya said with a shake of her head. “But some of the beverages here are laced with spells that strengthen the effects of the drink. I’m almost impressed with how fast you summoned that rat.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I figured that if we were going to an underground fight that I should have at least one spell with me.”
“I said almost,” the haughty woman said. “Let’s go find a seat. There are chairs near the front where we can relax. You can even place bets if you’d like.”
“I think I’ll just watch for now,” I said as we walked to the front of the room.
The chairs that Sarya mentioned were more like chaise lounges made with crushed red velvet. I wondered if the color was to hide the bloodstains from the matches since we were so close, but they looked clean enough, and they were extremely comfortable. The redheaded elf took the one to the far left, and I took one in the middle. Mike took the one on the right, and Atlesia squeezed onto my seat and snuggled into me.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she said with a mischievous smile. “I don’t want to be alone. Especially after that dwarf.”
“Not at all,” I said and wrapped my arms around her waist.
Her soft curves pressed against me, and I had to remind myself that we were still in public. I was pretty sure that she liked me since she always wanted to hold my hand, and the cute flower nymph was just my type, so I didn’t mind it whatsoever. She relaxed her head against my shoulder, shot Sarya a victorious look, and then turned her attention to the cage.
The fight between the ogre and the giant was finished, and someone pulled the ogre’s body free of the floor. A smear of blue blood had already started to dry, and I wondered how I’d missed the death blow. The giant must’ve made it quick, because there were already new bets being placed for the next fight.
“The next fight will be between a crowd favorite and a newcomer,” someone announced.
I looked around to see where the voice came from and saw a short man with a too-wide smile walk into the arena. His beard was too short to be a dwarf, and his bulbous nose reminded me of a gnome in a video game. I cringed when the man’s gaze swept over us and realized that his teeth were sharp like a pixie’s.
“Rarus the Minotaur has come back from summer vacation!” the announcer boomed and then waited for the applause to die down. “And we have an eager newcomer who thinks that he can defeat him.”
A round of laughter wound through the crowd while I tried to place the name. The guy had said it was a minotaur, but the other summoner was a freshman, and his name had been Ramis. I doubted that there would be any students from Magia Schola since the fights were illegal, but we were there, and that meant that someone else might be, too.
“Isn’t Rarus the name of that guy’s brother?” Mike asked and sat up. “Ramis, I think. He’s one of the other summoners. The one that Onet said was a bully.”
“That’s why the name sounds familiar,” I said and pushed myself up to see better. “He’s the one that fought during the battle magic exhibit. He was pretty good.”
“He’s still just a minotaur,” Sarya said and rolled her silver eyes. “The only thing that his magic will be good for is this kind of fight. It’s all brute strength and no brains.”
