Hounds Rising

“I think I’m going to head over to the tavern for a bit if you all are going to be busy,” Ana stated as she stood up from the dining table.

Leaf gave a slight nod and felt a knot in his throat.

Test our skills? What does that mean?

He walked over and up the stairs, Darion following behind and the rest of the party trailing. On the third floor, Leaf waved his right hand, which caused the torches on the wall to burst into flame. He awkwardly gestured, and Darion excitedly walked to the middle of the room.

“I believe the contract will be enough to let me do this. Shall I?” He asked Leaf, who nodded.

Dean Walker closed his eyes, and Leaf could feel the shift from his feet first. The floor seemed to grow twenty, fifty, a hundred feet across. The cages scattered around the space grew ten feet wide and roughly forty feet tall. The Dean stepped forward and raised his hands, and the party listened as the ground cracked open in various places and trees grew instantly at multiple sizes. Branches reached out as high as the cages, which seemed to connect the tops as if an entire colony of wood elves lived in them. Leaf kept his composure, but he could feel the arcane strength it took to create all of this from just the Dean’s thoughts, and it shook him slightly, which he tried to hide by walking closer to him.

“This tower is absolutely wonderful!” Dean Walker gleefully exclaimed.

“So, what is your plan here?” Rhokhishi asked.

“Well, it’s quite simple, but I guess I should explain the rules for our little test. You see, the Archmage is not only a political position but was originally given to a mage considered the most powerful of their time. Creatures from all over will see Leaf and wonder about his ability, so having someone like myself as an ally would be most helpful. But, I do not unquestioningly give my confidence. So, here, we will test Leaf’s abilities. Actually…”

Dean Walker raised his hand again, and a blue, ten-foot dome appeared near the stairs.

“You are all allowed to join this, but for those wanting just to watch, you have a safe place to spectate. I will challenge Leaf to a duel. The only rule is that I must try to take him out, and you all must try to stop me. Also, because I envisioned this place, I ensure that anyone who would normally be killed would be safe from that kind of harm.”

“Oh, Hells yes!” Lyla exclaimed, her arms crossing her chest and an excited look on her face.

“What do you say, Master Leaf? Will you duel with me?”

As his foot met the ground, Leaf stepped forward and felt his leg shake under his robe. Taking a deep breath, he stood as tall as he could and nodded. Next to him, Mr. Muffins and Rhokhishi stepped forward.

“You said we could join, right?” Rhokhishi asked.

“Of course. You are all welcome, but if you go inside the safety dome, I assume you are forfeiting your participation,” Dean Walker stated.

“Then, let’s get going,” Mr. Muffins replied, pulling Jimbo from his holster and checking his crystals in the chamber.

“Yes, let us begin.”

Leaf stepped forward, but Dean Walker pulled an item from his pocket before he could pull out his glass dagger. He crushed it in his hands, and a silvery light blinded Leaf for a second. He blinked, then looked again to see that the Dean was covered in an aura of silver.

Mr. Muffins aimed and pulled the trigger on Jimbo. Three fire bolts blasted from the barrel, and he moved quickly behind a tree to take cover. Leaf waited, watching the bolts race through the air at Dean Walker. He watched as the man stepped forward, watching the first bolt pass over his left shoulder. The next flew just a little too high, but the third bolt looked like it would hit its target. As the bolt reached Dean Walker, he raised his hands. As if catching a ball in his hands, he let his arms move to his side. Moving it up to his face, he blew out at it, and a cone of fire erupted outward. Rhokhishi managed to be outside the blast, but Leaf couldn’t find cover fast enough. Fire erupted against his robes, singing and licking at the skin on his legs. Leaf quickly pat his clothes with his hands, stopping the spread, then raised the dagger and started his incantation. Next to Dean Walker, a spectral, skeletal hand appeared and grabbed onto his arm. Greenish-black energy erupted, and the Dean’s face went from glee to pain.

Leaf expected the spell to slow the Dean down momentarily, but the damage didn’t seem to be enough because Darion turned as Rhokhishi started running toward him.

“Rahmnivar, I call unto you!” He bellowed.

As Rhokhishi lifted her ax, ready to swing it down, she rushed forward. Before being able to close the distance, the tail of a giant creature swung in front of her, causing her to stop and roll off to the side. The wind gushed as a winged creature of emerald scales landed in front of her. The young dragon reared his head back, then tried to swipe at Rhokhishi, who managed to block the attack and throw it to the side.

“I’ve got this! You get the Dean!” Rhokhishi shouted to Leaf, laughing as she jumped to make another attack, this time at the dragon.

Leaf turned slightly in his space behind the tree. Shadow rose from the ground around him, and his body became nothing for a moment. He felt his feet make contact with the ground again, twenty feet away from his original position, as Mr. Muffins pressed onto the trigger of Jimbo again in front of Leaf. The bolts of fire shot out again, but this time, Dean Walker waved his hand to the side, and the bolts dropped to the ground before making it to him. He stepped forward, making eye contact with Leaf.

You are trying, but it’s not enough!

As the words erupted in Leaf’s mind, a wave of nausea and pain burst through his mind. His hands reflexively moved to the sides of his head, and he curled forward. In front of him, Mr. Muffins pulled his arcane cannon from his bag and threw it forward. It dropped to the ground and immediately erupted near the Dean. Leaf watched through watery vision as Mr. Muffins ran ahead and readied another shot from Jimbo.

“I’m sorry for this, but you seem to be the only one that can hit me, so you have to move out of my way,” Dean Walker stated matter-of-factly to Mr. Muffins and raised his hands together.

He released the arcane energy and ice shot from his hands in a circular motion. Leaf was sure that the spell would freeze Mr. Muffins to the ground, but Mr. Muffins managed to avoid most of the attack. Behind him, Leaf could hear Rhokhishi fighting with the dragon, concussive energy blasts blowing branches and leaves off the trees and scattering across the floor. Leaf readied himself behind the tree for a moment, then stepped out again, his dagger already aimed.

Under Dean Walker, shadows erupted and grabbed onto his boots, robe, and legs. It stretched up as if trying to wrap him in the energy. Leaf was sure that Mr. Muffins would be able to feel the difference in the air as the moisture was taken from the space the Dean was standing in, and Leaf could already see the skin start to lose its color.

In retaliation, Darion fought to release the shadowed shackles from his body. His eyes started to glow a deep green, and he screamed the incantation of another spell. Leaf didn’t even have time to hear the entirety of the charm to decide his reaction to it as pain exploded through Leaf’s mind again. Leaf tried to fight it, commanding the shadows to do his bidding, but the spike of pain was too much, and he could feel the shadows around him instead as darkness took his vision.