The corpse of the sheep steamed in the chill of the morning—it had not long been dead. Its flesh was sunken in as if drained of blood. Despite the gruesome sight, Hump’s mind was already racing with possibilities.

Tok’s stomach grumbled and the gnoll pup staggered forward.

On instinct, Hump took him by the scruff of his neck. “Not for eating!”

Tok yapped in protest. Hump let go, immediately realising what he’d done. He glanced at Rehk, concerned he might have offended her. To his surprise, she burst into a high pitched, cackling sound that Hump took to be laughter, though it bordered on the edge of manic.

“Would not be first pup to lose head for stomach,” she said.

Celaine approached and examined the sheep. “I’ve not seen a single sheep for two days, so what’s this one doing here?”

“You think something brought it here?” Hump asked.

“Let see,” Rehk said, striding forward. She looked over the body then spat out a disgusted sound. “Vakresha! It close.” Her tone usually sounded fierce, but it was especially so now.

Tok snarled at the sound of it, and Nisha huddled up against Hump’s neck from his shoulder, nervousness radiating through their bond.

Rehk was looking up, searching the treetops in a hurry. She seemed frantic.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Big blood drinker. Has teeth and wings.”

“Could be a sanguine stalker,” Celaine said. “From the teeth marks, it could line up. They’re not uncommon around Drakalyn, never heard of one being on this side of the mountain though. Be ready, they’re dangerous.”

“What should I know about them?” Hump said quickly, raising his staff, ready for a fight.

“Giant bat monsters that drink blood. By giant, I mean big as a horse. Watch the trees—they rely on ambushes from above.”

“Got it. Rehk, Tok, stay close behind me. Nisha, in the pouch.” The little dragon wormed her way inside without protest, poking her head out to watch.

“I fight, Hump. No need help.”

“This isn’t about helping you,” Hump said, his voice unintentionally stern. “I told you we’re strong. Guard my rear and stay out of our way.”

He glanced at her as she stared at him, and for a moment, he thought he saw a challenge in her eyes. It passed quickly. She barked something in her language, and both she and Tokdaar took up positions behind him. He heard the slick sound of metal on leather as she drew her long knife from its sheath. It made him nervous. He’d not considered his order before giving it—it was hard not to feel nervous when standing in the shadow of a giant creature famous for their demonic hunger.

We’re on the same team, he reminded himself.

“Burning Wisp,” Hump muttered, summoning three flame constructs around them. He instilled them with his will, directing them to spread out around him in three directions, ready for if he needed them.

By the sheep ahead of him, Celaine was searching the shadows of the forest canopy, her gaze lingering on a particularly dark patch further up the stream. She strung an arrow without hesitation and loosed it, fast as a heartbeat.

It disappeared into the darkness, and a deep cry erupted from its centre, followed by a thousand tiny screeches.

To Hump’s eyes, it was if the shadows moved. Bats larger than Nishari erupted from the tree. They filled the air before them like a dark cloud. Behind them, something larger exploded from the branches, the entire tree shaking. It shot toward them, hitting the ground and landing on four muscular limbs with a thud. It carried its momentum as it charged them.

Celaine used Spring Step to leap over it and the oncoming swarm, loosing another arrow at the creature, this time streaked with the silver light of Power Shot. It pierced the creature’s winged arm, and it let loose another shrieking roar. But its weight carried it forward.

“Shield!” Hump barked, a barrier of essence forming a wall before him, quickly expanding into a dome that surrounded him and the gnolls. The creature thudded into it, smashing down with its fists in a fury. Bats swarmed it, a black mass that obscured Celaine from view.

There was another crash, and a second creature launched itself from the tree behind them, landing atop his shield and smashing down with the weight of a horse.

Hump grunted from the impact, gritting his teeth as he threw more essence into his spell. Channels of light spread across the wall of power like a net, reinforcing it. It struck again with a double fisted blow, and Hump directed his Burning Wisps at it, the flame constructs leaping at it like miniature fireballs. Fire splashed over its body and it reared up, an ear piercing screech escaping its fanged mouth. Silver light flared again, piercing through the gaps in the swarm, striking the creature above straight through its skull and sending it crashing to the ground, dead.

Hump pulled his spellbook from his belt and channelled essence through the page, using its Compact Formations function to enhance his magic. He gathered essence to his staff, fire bubbling in the core of damnation, as he’d aptly named it, then he collapsed his shield. Rehk let out a cry of shock behind him, and Tok whimpered.

Hump levelled his staff toward the back, drawing upon the lingering essence of his spell. “Fire Blast.”

A cone of red exploded forward, sending bats tumbling down like rain, their bodies turned to charcoal, smoke rising from them. The air filled with the acrid smell of burning flesh. Those he’d missed fled upward, squeaking with fear. The other sanguine stalker leapt back, its black flesh singed. It snarled at him.

“Leave this one to me,” Hump called to Celaine.

The beast took that as its moment to rush him.

The pages of Hump’s spellbook whirled, opening to a new page. He’d made use of the journey to experiment with the other new spell storage function of his spellbook, and it was about time to test a spell he’d been eager to try for a long time. The book stopped shuffling, falling open on a formation that radiated essence—power he’d stored in the book before.

Hump let out a calming breath and focused, unphased by the charging beast not ten paces from him. His mind was on the spell only, envisioning what he wanted it to do.

“Molten Coils.”

Essence flooded from his book, rushing through him in a warm wave. Whips of red and yellow heat exploded from the top of his staff, lashing through the air in wide, sweeping arcs. They carved through the sanguine stalker like a hot knife through butter, a searing sound filled the air. The creature’s torso was carved into three pieces, flesh tumbling to the ground. Each piece was charred completely black along the cut. A moment later, the tree behind the fallen beast shifted. Flames erupted in a burst around the trunk, the tree slowly tipped to its side, collapsing with a crash that echoed throughout the mountainside.

It was devastation. Hump couldn’t help but be a little intimidated by the effect. It was far from his first deadly spell, but the ability to slice things to pieces with such ease felt wrong.

“I told you we’d handle it,” Hump said, glancing over his shoulder.

Rehk stared at him with white eyes, her hackles raised, teeth bared, Tokdaar sheltered behind her. She was afraid. It seemed she realised the aggression she was showing as she relaxed, withdrawing her arm from Tok.

“Strength was true,” she said. “More strong than chief even.”

Hump was under no false pretences—their relationship was one of necessity. While he believed Rehk intended them no harm, a little fear of the consequences of betrayal would not hurt. If even princes and long-time allies could turn traitorous, there was no reason to trust a gnoll.

“A wizard never lies,” Hump said. He checked the sky once more, the bats that escaped gone from sight.

Celaine landed beside him. “We should keep moving. Our fight might attract more monsters to the area.”

Before they left, Hump studied the page once more. It was the Tier 4 spell he’d gained from the Rivers of Lava spell tree gifted to him by Countess Daston, and he was more than satisfied with the results. The essence in the spell formation had faded and now only the usual black ink remained.

Suddenly, the book shook, and the pages whirled once more.

SPELLBOOK

Shatter Shield

Evocation | Battle Magic | Tier 3 | Range: Short

Description

Shatter one’s own shield of essence. The lingering essence can be drawn upon as an external source of power or unleashed in an explosive blast.

Huh. He’d been wondering if he might get a spell for the technique. It was something he’d been doing in many of his fights, but he’d never received anything. Perhaps the upgrade to the Book of Infinite Pages offered more than just a new function, and it might now reveal more spells to him. Or maybe this was because of his own changes. He’d manifested his soul, his skill with essence was better than ever, perhaps his technique was closer to the spell’s true form. He was still unsure if it was creating spells from essence techniques he wielded or revealing spells like them stored within its pages, either way, this would be a useful addition to his arsenal.

“All okay?” Rehk asked.

Nisha climbed back onto his shoulder to peer at the book. Celaine joined her, reading the new spell.

“Yes, all good,” Hump said, snapping his book shut. “Nothing to worry about.”

Rehk took the lead, guiding them further up the small mountain. They would reach the top today, and from there the pass would be visible.

As they walked, Celaine dropped back to speak with him privately. “That was impressive. Seems lava magic suits you.”

“I think it does,” Hump said.

“You’d catch a lot of opponents off guard with a spell like that. Seems your tests with the book have paid off. It’s even better than you expected.”

“Yeah.”

He'd taken his time working his way up the spell tiers, not wanting to risk spells that he couldn’t cast without the book. It was an unnecessary concern—the book handled the casting of the spell, Hump only had to give it proper direction.

“Only one spell left now,” Hump said. “Only makes sense to keep a Tier 5 spell stored inside. Nobody’s going to expect me to have the ability to cast Magma Pit.”

Celaine laughed. “No, I don’t suppose they will.”

He’d been mulling it over. The ability to store such powerful spells was powerful enough already, but to Hump, it was the speed at which he could cast it that was truly terrifying. This was a Tier 4 spell and he’d unleashed it with hardly a thought. To think, it could still go one tier higher.

The view from atop the mountain was breath-taking. It was just coming up to midday, and the sky was clear. Behind him, Hump looked over the forest he’d passed through. Row upon row of trees descended the stream, and far beyond, was a grassy plain. It had taken two days for them to travel it. And for all that effort, it felt like they’d accomplished nothing. Ahead of him, snowy peaked mountains towered ever taller. They were not even a fifth of the way up some of them.

“The mountain way,” Rehk said, pointing to a softer slope between two of the peaks.

To Hump, it looked like layered cliffs. “Are you sure it’s climbable?”

She nodded. “Tok climbed. You climb.”

“Tok climbed down,” Hump said. “And we have horses.”

She shrugged. “Up, down. No matter. Horses, I don’t know.”

Hump let out a long sigh. He’d had quite enough of walking. They’d have to lead the horses most of the way through the forest, and they wouldn’t handle the steep terrain ahead well.

“There are riders,” Celaine barked, staring over the forest behind them. “A dozen, if not more.”

Hump turned, looking back over the forest. “Where? I don’t see anything.”

“See nothing too,” Rehk said.

“They’re out there,” Celaine said. “Not yet at the base of the forest. Maybe two days, if they travel at our pace.”

“Adventurers, maybe?” Hump asked.

“I doubt it. The Vonhold Pass is the only way I know over the mountains in this area. It’s the only way into the Fallen Lands.”

“I thought we’re already in them,” Hump said.

“I don’t know,” Celaine snapped. “My people don’t care for the lands on this side of the mountains. It’s all safe here. It’s beyond where the true danger lies. My point is, if they were hunting monsters, they probably wouldn’t be coming this way.”

“Who knows, maybe the farmer reported his missing sheep.” Hump didn’t even believe his own words.

“Or maybe they’re after us,” Celaine said. “We stirred up trouble in Suncrest.”

“There’s no chance Briana Pembroke followed us out here,” Hump snapped. “She was barely second circle.”

“Then what?”

She and Hump shared a look. His master’s parting message had warned of people able to detect the book now that he’d manifested his soul. Could they have already found his trail?

“How?” Rehk asked. “We leave no tracks.”

“There are some tracks undetectable to our senses,” Hump said. “Come on. Let’s keep moving. They’re still two days off. If they want us, we’ll make it difficult for them.”