The Accidental Archmage by Edmund Batara (read out loud books .TXT) 📕

falling trees on fire accented the inferno before him. The crackle

of the burning forest was all he could hear. Thankfully, it drowned out the dying and

painful screams of lives burning away.

Tyler let the fire burn. He didn’t know how to stop it. Those that were in the clearing

and escaped the fire didn’t escape the arrows of the Jorund and Habrok. He hoped the

fire break he made near the stream would not let the fire spread. Otherwise, if a forest

spirit did guard this part of the woods, then he’ll have another enemy for life. Again.

Watching the fire, he thought he had time to check the progress of the main host

marching towards Scarburg. He left to go up the trail after informing Jorund of his plan.

That’s when after assessing the enemy host, he heard the sounds of another attack.

Moving to the vantage point used by his companions as a watch post, he saw that the

fire had almost died down. Only isolated burning trees remained of the inferno he

created. The forest was a blackened shell of its former self. But the cloying sweetish

smell of burnt flesh, mixed with ash, assaulted his nostrils even as he saw another

group of foes running towards the low cliff. This time they carried small trees. They

appeared to be ogres. Probably late-comers to the party, he thought. But they looked

formidable. Even with the barest amount of crude armor, only a few had fallen though

the arrows of Jorund and Habrok festooned the moving monsters. He estimated around

thirty approaching the low cliff.

Clutching the staff, he stood up and prepared to launch a lightning spell. As he aimed

and cast the spell, he let go of his control, intending to let the bolt have the most effect he can get out of it. The bolt hit the leading ogre but his letting go of control resulted

instead of a lightning bolt with a widely dispersed area of effect.

The ogre disintegrated and another ogre following him had his leg cut off after being

caught in the dispersed beam. The mortally injured ogre's scream of pain reverberated

through the forest. It was a strange sound, a long and deep guttural scratchy cry. The

loud death throes of the now fallen monster gave momentary pause to its companions.

Blood gushed from the severed stump.

With that, he changed tactics and flung aimed lightning bolts one after the other. Four

bolts. Three ogres. He missed one. Shit.

He needed a different approach. Casting fireball spells will only have the same effect as

the lightning bolts. A fire like what he did with the first attackers would probably be

shrugged away by the beasts unless he can get it to stick to them. But with their

resistance and extraordinary resilience, it would take time. That left the blade ability but he could only manage five arrow-size blades as targeted projectiles. Small projectiles

might not work on them. He shifted to two large spearhead-sized projectiles and let

loose. Two down. Another cast. One hit. His control over the blades still needed

practice. The two bowmen had also managed to bring down two more. The enemy’s

casualties was piling up.

The breaking point of the ogres came suddenly. The ogres stopped and started to

backtrack. When Tyler saw this, he formed the biggest fireball between three ogres and

ignited it. The deafening explosion that resulted clinched it for the rest. They turned tail and ran.

Tyler sat down. He was really, really tired. And his conscience bothered him. He may

have been as brutal as he could be.

CHAPTER LORE:

Fascine – A bundle of wood or other material used to cover gaps and ditches.

Forad – Old Norse. Meaning “monster.”

CHAPTER XIV

Cry Havoc!

He sat for a while, trying to get a grip on himself. His staff was on the ground beside

him. He looked at his hands. They were trembling badly. His leg muscles were shaking.

With the immediate danger over, the enormity of what he had done slowly sank into

him.

Killed dokkalfr with magical blades, burned a host of jotnar and dokkalfr without mercy,

turned giants into exploding chunks of flesh.

It was surreal. But those acts will pale in comparison to what he was expected to do

next. Turn an entire battlefield into a meat grinder.

As if I know how to do that. Even if I find the nerve to do it.

He cast a quick healing spell on himself to ward off the exhaustion. He didn’t want to

add it to his concerns. He closed his eyes for a while and took several deep breaths,

desperately trying to calm himself. It cleared his mind but not his conscience. He stood

up and called out for Jorund and Habrok. He hoped they could hear him so he won’t

need to go down the trail. He didn’t have the courage yet to gaze upon his gruesome

handiwork up close. Shortly, the two came up the trail. He noticed they brought their

makeshift shields with them. Some arrows were stuck in them. He hurried to them to

give instructions.

“Jorund, block the trail. We will make our stand here if anything tries to attack again.

When you finish, watch my back as I will be upon the ledge. I don’t want flying

whatever attacking me from behind. But keep your bow with you. Take cover and try to

kill anything that comes near. You get to guard our back and watch the trail. Any swords on that gear we got, plant them on the clearing, point up. Better they serve

some purpose. Habrok, when I get to a position on the ledge, cover me with one of

your tarps and some small branches. Try to improve the ledge cover and protection if

you can. When finished, stay at my leftmost side. Among those trees. Try to guard me

against attacks. There are ice drakes out there. MOVE!”

Jorund moved back to the trail. Habrok went with him to the ledge. While crouching,

the ranger pointed out the best position for Tyler and went back to the cabin to get the

tarp. Tyler asked for Habrok to bring him some food and a waterskin too. He crawled to

the recommended vantage point. He could see the host nearer now. If it wasn’t for the

fact that