The next morning, Kyle woke up to someone pounding on his door. “Summoner!” A Dwarf’s voice echoed across the still empty halls. “Are you awake?!”
Kyle let out a tired sigh as he crawled out of bed, and opened the door. “I am now.” He grumbled. “What happened?”The dwarf looked at him with sparkling eyes. His face was red with exhaustion, and also excitement. “The forge is lit!” He declared with a victorious tone. “The Giant Erdan-Sol has begun forging, and so have most of my people!”Kyle’s eyes shot wide open. Whatever sleepiness was left in him vanished, he was wide awake now. “So soon?” He asked as the gears started turning in his head. If the forge was lit and the Giant could smith already, then it was time to let Prince Thornir of the dwarves know about the situation. He was sure to be furious, but if he wanted to use the legendary forge, then he’d need to come“This is unacceptable!” Prince Thornir shouted at the top of his lungs. His booming voice nearly deafened Kyle as it echoed through the halls, repeating itself over and over again. “I will not be tricked like this! Bring me the Heart of the Forge, or I will get it myself!”Aoris stepped forward, between Kyle and the Dwarven Prince, her hand still resting on the hilt of her claymore. She said nothing, and made no other movement, but her sheer presence was more than enough to cause Thornir to step back a moment.“How dare you try and steal what belongs to me?!” He shouted, spitting as he spoke. His face had twisted with anger, and he was shaking in his boots, his fists clenched with such force that his knuckles had gone white.“It clearly doesn’t belong to you.” Kyle calmly replied, trying to hide his own unease. If the dwarves decided to attack him now, Aoris would probably be able to hold them back, and if it got a
Kyle paced the cathedral’s halls, the unease in his heart growing with each step. He was tired, it was the middle of the night after all. Yet, he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t rest.He was afraid. It was as simple as that.He was afraid of dying.A group of skeletons passed by him, each of them carrying buckets of oil. It was Irena’s idea. She wanted to light the path leading up to the plateau aflame.They spent the evening digging trenches and piling rocks by the path. Sentries had been posted along the cliffs. No one could sneak up by climbing the steep cliffs.Yet, Kyle felt uneasy. He knew no one could sneak inside the cathedral. He also knew the players wouldn’t try that – they’d prefer a proper fight. Yet, he continued to feel uneasy.What he needed to do was finish his preliminary study of the Necronomicon. What he wanted to do was to crawl in a dark, small spot and sleep for a few days.
With the first lights of dawn, Kyle left his room. The usually empty hallways of the cathedral were now full of life. The Dwarves who had been busy working on the catacombs beneath the building had returned to the surface, and the elves had temporarily left their orchard to come join the battle preparations as well.Smoke rose into the sky from the newly built forge. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed as Kyle descended down with the elevator. He had no clue when Harriet had dropped by to create the elevator, but he was truly thankful for it.The forge was lit, and it was quite hot inside. Erdan-Sol was working on the equipment made to his size, while at least half a dozen dwarves were working on more normal sized equipment.“Summoner!” An elf’s voice startled Kyle. “We’re having them forge arrowheads.” The veiled elf explained upon seeing his confusion. “They worked throughout the night to make equipment for the dwarves &
The uneasy wait lasted very little, as soon the enemy forces arrived at the foot of the path leading up the plateau. They had quite the steep climb ahead of them, and as soon as they stepped foot onto the dirt path, an arrow struck the middle of the path before them.“Halt!” Irena’s booming voice echoed across the plateau, over the forests below. Her voice was enhanced magically of course. “Turn back now – nothing but death awaits you!” She shouted from atop the gatehouse.Kyle gulped. He, along with many others was standing behind the open gate.“They won’t retreat.” One of the elven archers whispered. It was the same one as he’d spoken in the Giant’s forge. The elf smiled under her only partially opaque veil. “The hunt begins.” She whispered, her eyes glittering with excitement.Taken aback by the blood-thirst he sensed from her, Kyle took a step back. The hunt? It was no hunt, it was
“Shards of Light!” Kyle whispered under his breath. His voice was lost amidst the sounds of battle, but his spell was certainly not. Still glaring at the two, three, or four enemies in stealth, he released the five shards of crystallised light.The shards flew true, and passed by the group by quite a large margin.Kyle gritted his teeth. “What the hell?” he uttered quietly as he tried again. Once again, the shards flew exactly as he wanted them to, but once again missed the stealthy players. The young summoner scowled as he tried to figure out what was messing with his aim so much.“Have they approached?” The veiled elf asked as she hooked yet another arrow, and fired it into the distant melee.Kyle nodded. “They’re making their way over here.” He gulped – they were clearly coming for him. “Stand your ground, and make sure the melee goes in our favour. I’ll try to draw them away f
The battle was soon over. Aoris and Irena had destroyed the remaining players with relative ease, and with minimal wounded people. Once the last of the players fled or died, Kyle and everyone else who wasn’t wounded helped carry those who were back to the cathedral.“None of them are lethal wounds.” Rhealis reassured him later, as she tended to the wounded. “The dwarves suffered the worst of all, but that’s to be expected considering how they rushed at the enemy.” She shrugged with a soft chuckle. “You are also not wounded, I presume?”Kyle shook his head. “I’m fine. Not a scratch.”Rhealis nodded. “Good,” She smiled. “Now go and sleep, Summoner. You’ve been up the whole day, and you look like a ghost with how pale you are.” She tapped on his forehead. “Healer’s command. Now go.”Kyle couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, yeah.” He yawned.
“I’m off,” Kyle waved at Aoris before riding away.His conversation with Cacophus hadn’t become any more fruitful after he asked the Lich to be blunt. Instead, Cacophus had become more reserved, and asked for some time to ponder. He’d talk to him later, the Lich had promised, and he’d be blunt, he’d given his word.Kyle let out a sigh. Droigheann’s suggestion slowly began to seem like it was more trouble than it was worth. But then again, there was no way to know that, was there? If Cacophus knew about the Necronomicon, what would he do? That was the question both Kyle and the Demon of the Nightbloom were worried about.“Where are we going, Summoner?” Irena asked. She’d decided to accompany Kyle when he declared he was going hunting.“Apparently there are a bunch of wild beasts lurking around between the plateau and Igna’s fortress.” Kyle explained, retelling what the elven scouts
“Vis?” Kyle called out to the young woman. He had immediately recognised her from her blood red hair, and white dress. Why was she in these woods though? And why hadn’t she said anything? “Vis?” He called out, louder, as he followed her into the woods.The leafy canopy of the forest ruffled as he followed her. Bats, startled by Kyle’s fast paced footsteps, flew off the branches they were hanging from.Kyle covered his face with his arm as he hurried after the young woman. He shooed the bats away when they came too close, and hastened his footsteps, trying not to lose her amongst the trees and the bushes.“Vis!” He shouted, louder.His voice startled not only the bats and local wildlife, but also the young woman. She flinched, and looked over her shoulder, only for her red eyes to widen as she spotted Kyle.“Oh,” She softly said as Kyle quickly closed the distance between them. “I didn’t