We stepped from the otter’s domain into the wolves’ domain, and instantly felt the temperature difference. We were on an exposed ledge, though there was a winding path down the small hill. Instead of dropping down, we headed toward the cave mouth to our left. Inside was a lot warmer and more spacious than I thought it would be, probably due to the S shaped entryway that trapped heat.

“It’s about time you showed up Elendria. I see you brought the pup with you.” A female voice greeted us. Inside the cave were two massive white wolves, and several smaller white wolves with varying bits of black on them.

“Frigara. Arctos. I have come to renew our summoning contract. But first, a bit of a peace offering for coming to your home.” She gave a wave of her hand, and I produced some of the meat that was taking up the majority of my inventory. “We realize that you come from an area low in fire mana, and from your enjoyment of the fire newt that meat saturated with it is a delicacy. So, we brought you three lava boars. A third tier evolution, it is steeped in both fire and earth mana.”

While Elendria talked about the meat, I set the boars against one of the open walls. I sensed a presence beside me, and a mouthful of teeth in a doggy grin took up my peripheral vision. “Heh. I wouldn’t be able to resist taking a peek at it either.” I said as Arctos chuffed in amusement. “We kept the liver, heart, brain, and some other organs. Basically everything but the digestive tract.”

“Mmm, sounds good pup. The kid’s are gonna love this.” Arctos chuckled. “Though we will have to do Elendria’s challenge first. Sounds like Frigara is almost ready to explain.” Nodding in agreement, I headed back with Arctos, chuckling as the kids stared at the carcasses with unabashed greed.

“My mate says your offering of meat is accepted. That leaves the issue of the challenge. We are not like the otters, strength is only lent to those who are worthy. Though this challenge is more dire than those in the past, it is not beyond your strength. Arctos?”

Arctos gave a savage grin and continued the explanation, “Right. From time to time, Outer Planes like ours interact. While there is some trade back and forth of mana and lifeforms, this usually poses no risk. However, this time is different. Our Abyssal Ice Plane is being forcefully tethered to a Shadow plane, with the intent of a hostile takeover. Their greatest weapon is an abomination of a creature. It has the ability to absorb cold mana and convert it to shadow mana. This mana is then used to spawn smaller creatures to defend the mother. The denizens of our plane don’t work well together on the best of days, and none are interested in attacking such a creature at this time. Fools.”

“We will be more than happy to help you destroy such a creature.” Elendria said.

“Very well, but there are rules that must be followed. This is your trial, Elendria. I will lead the assault, you and Frigara will aid me with your attacks. The pup is relegated to a supporting role. He can’t attack the main creature directly.”

“Agreed.” Elendria immediately replied, looking over at me. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”

“Not at all.” I said with a grin. “I just need to clarify a few things first. I can’t attack the main creature, but that doesn’t apply to the minions, correct?”

“You wish to take on a horde of smaller creatures?” Frigara asked skeptically.

“Normally no, but I have the perfect magic set for it.” I answered, summoning a small globe of light above my hand. “Not only that, but how would you two like your own sets of light magic based armor? Complete with claws and fangs to shred shadows? That’s within the support role, right?”

“Oh? Let’s see this armor, pup.” Arctos said. With a wave of my hand, the light orb streaked across the cave and spread across his chest. When it finished, Arctos had a golden hue to his fur. His already formidable claws now had a vicious hook to them, one that completely ignored the stone he was walking on.

“I’ll be honest, this is rather impressive pup. Yes, this will definitely fall within your role as support, as it is magic that you cast but ultimately under our control. We shall change the attack pattern. The pup, no. Sean will start off the battle and distract the minions. We will attack from the other side while they are distracted and kill the abomination. Use whatever techniques you want, but don’t leave any tracks toward our home.”

Plan set, we headed out. Elendria and I took to the air, though we kept our altitude extremely low. I used a bit of gravity magic to assist Elendria, but that was it. I could see the wolves using a bit of ice magic to spread their weight out across the snow, leaving no tracks whatsoever. We traveled this way for nearly forty-five minutes, and the landscape was honestly depressing. There were the occasional hill, and in a few cases small mountains, but they were few and very far between. The rest of the land was a snowscape worn flat by the constant wind. Eventually we noticed a large darkness on the edge of the horizon, and that’s when Arctos slowed down.

“The darkness there is where the invasion is. Let’s split here, and we can attack when Sean starts. Make sure to use something flashy!” Arctos ordered with a toothy grin. Honestly I think he was only warming toward me because I could make him deadlier, but that was fine.

“Alright, before you guys go. I’m going to add in a bit of divine magic to your claws and armor. I don’t know if it will do more damage to shadow creatures or not, but it wouldn’t hurt. Good luck, and I’ll give everyone a half hour to get into position.” I cast the magic spell, only it was slightly different than what I had originally cast in the cave. The light was shifted toward a pure white instead of yellow, to better hide with the surroundings. Satisfied, both wolves gave me a nod, and then took off with Elendria following. I angled myself away from them, and took a slightly higher course.

As I flew, I noticed that the snow gave way to patches of black rock. It had gentle rolls in it that had worn smooth over time, and was almost like black glass. Luckily for the wolves it wasn’t a full transition, otherwise their armor was going to stand out like a sore thumb.

Like all things though, my trip swiftly came to an end. I dropped behind a hill, and climbed to the top to get a view of the enemy. And it was rather obvious why they called it an abomination. What had to be the main creature was about twice the size of an elephant, and had six legs. Eight tentacles surrounded a circular mouth on top, and each tentacle ended with its own mouth. As I watched, a bulge traveled down one of the tentacles, and a new shadow creature was expelled with a burst of pink goo. The skin of the creature was covered in a viscous oil that dripped down beneath the creature, forming a sludge that would slow melee creatures down. All that would be problems for the others though, I needed to focus on the minions.

Unfortunately, the minions were incredibly varied. The newest one looked like a walking stick the size of a german shepherd that had the jaws of a massive beetle on each end. Each leg had a piercing tip that easily cracked into the rock beneath, giving it purchase. Even though I had seen it getting born only seconds ago, it was already walking around like an adult. Joining it from the insect kingdom were what looked like flying spiders with a scorpion tail, dragonflies with a hundred legs that ended in crab claws, armored beetles with porcupine quills, and pillbugs with spikes for traction.

Horrid combinations from the animal kingdom weren’t limited to insects though. There was a wolf version of Cerberus, bears with extra arms that ended with claws like a badger, deer with bladed arms, and hundreds of other creatures with fur that looked more like blades than anything. They were all arranged in a rough circle around the abomination, but that was fine. “Well, let’s shake things up, shall we?” I muttered to myself. “Solar flare.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Elendria’s POV

We traveled through the snow, keeping low and avoiding the barren patches of rock that occasionally cropped up. The land flew by beneath us, and we swiftly reached the abomination. It was horrid, and would birth a new monstrosity to join its horde once every ten minutes or so.

“It isn’t immune to ice magic, but keep it away from anything resembling a mouth. The teeth absorb the ice mana.” I felt Arctos’ voice in my mind, and I nodded to let him know I understood. There went one of my plans, as I was hoping that we could suffocate the bastard.

“What of that oil?” I whispered.

“It won’t freeze. Incredibly sticky, but if you escape it for an hour it will vaporize. Thoughts?”

“A few. It doesn’t seem to produce it quickly, so I’ll start by trying to rip a hole in the ooze to let you at it’s flesh. Now we just wait for-“ I never got to finish my thought, as two bright orbs of light erupted from the top of a hill and formed a V shape around the abomination. The light did devastating damage, and those creatures that weren’t killed outright screamed in agony as bits of their bodies burned away. Black ichor dripped from any portion of the main body that was damaged, but the legs and other protrusions were cauterized instantly.

We stayed hidden, letting the horde react to the sudden assault. Instinct driving them, they abandoned their formation in order to destroy the source of their bane. While they were flocking toward Sean, we sprang into action. I took flight, sending blades of ice toward the abomination. Instead of cutting into the creature, I used them to scrape away the ichor from its sides. It was slow going, as the stuff liked to cling together. Almost immediately I abandoned using the scraping method, and instead pierced the gunk with ice and expanded it to clear a path. To my dismay there were pores all over the place secreting the gunk.

“I’ll patch the holes, you keep spreading the gunk away.” Frigara said in my head, sending forth icy shards that pierced each newly uncovered gap, preventing it from filling the hole I was building.

“Move toward a leg!” Arctos ordered, and I complied immediately. We were running out of time, as the wolves were fast approaching. As soon as they were near enough, both leaped onto the side of the creature, digging into the side and biting down on what would be a thigh. As the abomination cried out in agony, I created a dome of ice beneath the wolves so that they would have an escape. To my surprise, they clung to the side of the creature and used their hind legs to shred it’s underbelly.

“ICY RAMPART!” I called out from habit, creating a bulwark between the abomination and the approaching minions. Despite the havoc Sean was creating as he danced among them, blasting out freely with light, they recognized the danger to their creator.

“Damnit, it’s a hive mind!” I called out to everyone as I closed the gap. I was too far away to trust a distant spell wouldn’t hit an ally, though from the looks of things the wolves were nearing completion on the leg they were attacking.

“Elendria! Sever the rest as we retreat!” Arctos ordered, as both he and Frigara dropped away. As soon as they had dropped away and touched the ground, the nearest tentacles started trying to assault them. Damn thing must have tremorsense! Luckily the tentacles weren’t flexible enough to reach the body, but anywhere that was two feet from the creature was within range of at least one.

“Exploding ice lance!” I called out to let the wolves know my plan, sending a spear of ice into the joint of the creature. It pierced deeply, and the explosion ripped open the hole even more. The joint was ruined, and the leg hung there by a few tendons and a thick cord of unsevered muscle.

UUUUUAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

The bellow of pain rumbled in my chest, and the force of the sound actually sent me back a few inches. It also cost me my concentration, and the ice I had been using collapsed under the combined weight of the ichor. The wolves were back to my side, though Arctos had taken a glancing blow along one flank.

“Tough bastard. Tastes terrible.” He cursed, and Frigara chuffed in amusement.

“Well, one leg is crippled. I could try and flip it, but with five other legs it probably won’t fall down. It’ll also be on guard against an assault like that again. Plans?”

“Of course. This time Frigara and I will control the ice to clear your magic a path. You should find that Absolute Zero spell a lot easier to use in our plane than it is on your own. Freeze the other two legs on this side, and the weight will cause them to shatter. Then we can start taking out tentacles.” Arctos said, turning to give me a grin. “Once it has no defense, we will kill it.”

“Sounds good to me. Instead of clearing along the body, just go for the joints in the legs. Less ichor to clear and it is the weakest point anyway.” I said, getting a nod from both wolves. They darted in, launching magic spears of ice as they danced between flailing tentacles. If it weren’t such a harrowing display of agility it would be a thing of beauty. It only took a short while before the legs were exposed, time I took to take care of the few shadow spawn the creature had managed to make while our assault had been underway.

Taking a deep breath to center myself, I channeled the most powerful ice magic I could and sent it as beams from my hands. True to Arctos’ word, the spell was a lot easier to cast on this plane. It only took seconds of channeling the magic for the sounds of cracking ice to be heard, and the creature slowly toppled to one side with a mewling crash, two of the tentacles being crushed into oblivion beneath its massive weight.

“Take a moment to gather yourself, then we can worry about those tentacles.” Frigara said, getting a smile from me. The remaining six tentacles were flailing about in panic, as the gaping mouth floundered. Deep inside, I could see a disturbing looking black and blue crystal. Something about it just screamed that it wasn’t natural, even for the laws of the Outer Planes.

“I almost hate saying this, but those claws your Sean gave us were rather useful.” Arctos admitted. “But don’t tell the pup I said so.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. Now, about these tentacles. Something seems off about them to me.” I said.

“They have armored scales instead of the ichor.” Frigara nodded. “Ice magic tends to just slide off. Even a piercing round is more likely to be deflected because they are rounded.”

“The plates overlap?” I asked.

“Yeah. Almost like flared stacked cups.” Arctos said. “They are thicker near the body too. Gives it better armor, but it prevents a lot of the more fluid movements.”

“So, how are we going to tackle them?” I heard Sean ask, turning to see him dropping from the sky. A quick look back showed the entire field cleared of minions.

“How?” Frigara asked, asking what I was thinking.

“Oh, it was easy once I started using my head. I just used a bit of gravity magic to pull them all into one ball, and blasted them with light until they all died.” He shrugged, though he had a giant smile on his face.

“Hrmph.” Arctos snorted, but I could feel a bit of his emotions leaking through the telepathic link, and he seemed a bit impressed.

“Well, if we could get a pick of ice in between those plates, we could expand it and cause the plate to shear off the tentacle.” I said, trying to get us back on target. “The problem would be getting the pick deep enough.”

“True. And even our new claws are only strong enough to leave gouges in the armor. It would take a good bit of chewing to gnaw through a tentacle. Even if they can’t touch the body, it’s not something I want to do.” Arctos admitted.

“Dear, you are overthinking it again.” Frigara finally chuffed. “And you as well.” She added a glare for me. “The creature is defenseless at melee range. Let’s get to the other side, and let Elendria clear the gunk away for us. Then we can shred the soft underbelly with no fear. It’s not like the thing can drop down and crush us with its weight anymore.”

“Sounds simple and effective. If you two want, I can use a bit of gravity magic to get you past the tremorsense of the creature.” Sean offered.

“That would be wonderful.” Frigara said, and we all circled the wailing creature. Occasionally it would remember to pop out a new minion, but one of us swiftly disposed of it before it could gain its bearings. Once everyone was in place, Sean sent the wolves floating toward the creature while I cleared the underbelly of goo. For the next few minutes, the gore flew as the wolves tore into the helpless creature, but nobody stopped until it shuddered in death and we all got notifications.

Converter Abomination destroyed!

Your group has worked together to destroy a Converter Abomination. Your attacks, though low in damage, contributed greatly toward crippling the creature and protecting your allies. You will receive 30% of all rewards. Plane Invasion Constructs have the option of dropping corrupted materials, but your group leader, Arctos, has determined that all physical drops will be converted to party experience and split.

“You ok?” Sean asked, slipping an arm around my waist.

“Yeah. Just got a notification for the death of the creature and our experience. How much did you gain?”

“Hmm? Oh, it says that while my role was vital, since I did zero damage to the main creature my reward is only 10% of the total experience. Huh, that was enough to get me 5% closer to the next level. How about you?”

“I got 30% total, and I’m 72% from leveling up. Do you want me to-“

“No need.” He said, winking at me as the wolves returned. “This was your guys’ show, and you deserve the bulk of the experience. I’m just glad I could help where I could.”

“And we thank you for your help, as this battle would have been much more difficult without it.” Arctos said. “It seems that I may have been a bit remiss in calling you pup earlier. You have more than proven yourself a warrior. Not only for your prowess in battle, but in your ability to follow orders you may not necessarily agree with.”

“There’s no need to apologize Arctos. Until now, you haven’t seen me in battle, and a good leader is always plans for the worst while hoping for the best. Now, what say you guys to heading back to a warm cave for a little rest and some food? I could go for a bit of bacon before we head out to attack the undead city.” Sean said.

“Undead city?” Frigara asked.

“I’ll tell you on the way.” I answered. “I think a bit of relaxation is in order. Besides, if we don’t hurry back there’s a chance the kids will have eaten all the boars while you guys were gone. They were staring at those carcasses pretty hungrily.”

“Hah, a good point. They do take after their father like that.” Frigara chuckled, turning to lead us back toward the cave.

“I only ate more because you got the choice pieces.” Arctos grumbled, stopping when Sean placed a hand on his back.

“Tis better to just accept it man. Ain’t no way you are going to win that argument, trust me.” Sean said with a grin, before taking to the air.