The Hedge Wizard

Encased in his self-made tomb, Hump had time to think. He channelled essence into his left eye, calling upon his Spirit Sight. Through the wall, he saw everyone. Celaine, Francis Dordrel, and their two other witnesses stood to the side of the duelling ring. While before him he detected two figures—the mirror image Vivienne had once used to defeat Bud and Celaine, along with her real body standing slightly offset to the right.

He had her.

Essence flashed beyond his stonewall as Vivienne tore into it with her magic, hardly making a dent against the reinforced stone.

“You can’t just hide in there for the rest of the exam,” Vivienne called, the amusement in her voice not lost even when muted by the stone.

Hump ignored her and reached inward, drawing upon his essence. He had a few moments to prepare, and he wouldn’t waste them. “Burning Wisps.”

Three constructs of fire formed on the ground beside him, lighting his tomb with flickering flame as they awaited his command. He’d create an opening with them and then strike.

Pressing his hand against the wall before him, he aimed at Vivienne’s mirror image on the other side, taking the entire wall under his control. A web of bronze essence shone throughout the wall like cracks as he envisioned it exploding forward, other than a small section of stone right before him—that part he would hold back.

“If you won’t come out…” Vivienne’s voice came. He felt essence gather to her in far more density than before, condensing in a single point. He’d seen this spell before too—the spell that had torn through the underwater temple in the battle against the gorger, rampaging like great water dragons.

She was a higher tier wizard than him, and one with more experience. He would only have one chance at this and it had to be before she drowned him.

“Rockshot.” Hump ordered, essence and will flooding the rock before him, a surge of warmth vanishing from his body with it.

The stone erupted forward in a thunderous boom. Vivienne had no choice but to redirect the essence of her spell into a proper Shield, abandoning her mirror image. At the same time, Water Missiles filled the air around her. It was the moment he needed.

He directed his Burning Wisps in along each flank to get behind her as the Rockshot blasted through her mirror image harmlessly, piercing it line stone through water, obliterating the spell and sending it cascading to the ground in a wave of water. The main body sheltered behind her Shield. To his Spirit Sight, her invisible form was clearly visible now, revealed by the essence pouring from her in the heat of battle.

Hump manoeuvred the patch of stone that he’d held back, suspending it in the air before his staff and taking aim at Vivienne’s real body. He pumped it full of essence, a grinding, churning sound filling the air as he crushed it into shape with force of will. Bronze light filled the space before him, almost blinding. With a thought, he formed shards of obsidian—black needles that contained the disruptive properties of Titan’s Wrath.

Vivienne’s Water Missiles elongated, about to strike as she lowered her Shield, only for his Burning Wisps to bombard her. One by one, they erupted over her protective barrier, delaying her as Hump’s spell completed.

“Titan’s Wrath.” The obsidian needles shot at Vivienne, a dozen of them spread out across her shield.

Her Shield pulsed with essence as they struck, ripples of power running through the barrier. She poured more essence into it, flaring it brightly as a pattern of triangles appeared across it, adding strength. Behind it, Vivienne’s eyes widened with surprise as her spell collapsed.

It shattered, triangles falling to pieces in the air, before they too disintegrated into essence.

“Blast,” Hump barked.

A blue wave of power shot at Vivienne. She turned, shrouding herself in her cloak to take the impact. The enchanted attire absorbed the blow, barely staggering her.

A victorious smile spread across Hump’s face as she stood upright and looked at him. “Not too slow after—”

Hump stopped as he felt essence at his side. He tried to raise a Shield but was too slow. Water splashed over his shoulder, covering his neck and face, pouring down his shirt. Hump groaned. The Burning Wisps leapt at Vivienne, but she raised a Shield in time to protect her. Fire bathed her, and as it cleared, she stood there unmarred.

“That’s not fair,” Hump said. “There was barely any essence in that and I’d already caught you with a good one!”

Vivienne returned her wand to her belt and smiled. “There are no rules in battle.”

“Nobody’s going to be defeated with a splash of water!”

Vivienne laughed, crossing the duelling ring toward him. “Perhaps if you utilised Parry Shield as I’ve taught you, you would have blocked even that. Still, that was excellent, Hump. You were a little slow for a duel—against a better wizard, relying on large spells like you did can be dangerous, but you made it work. I’m impressed you were able to utilise Stonewall in combat so soon after studying it especially. And how did you locate my real body?”

Hump pointed at his eye. “Spirit Sight makes that a bit easy.” He focused, retracting his power from his eye so that it returned to normal. He wasn’t too worried about people in the Adventurer’s Guild seeing it, but amongst the normal population it was the kind of thing that would draw attention.

“You caught me completely off guard and that was a good blow. If you’d have put more essence into it, you’d have defeated me, so I concede for this one. It is your victory.”

“It doesn’t feel like victory,” Hump said glumly. He shook his arms out, feeling miserable and wet. “Can you dry me off?”

Vivienne waved her wand, and he felt the water lifted from him. “There. Feel like you won now?”

“Maybe a little.”

“Well don’t sulk too much. We have spectators.” Vivienne nodded toward the doors to the training hall, where the guildmaster was standing.

They both turned to face Francis Dordrel. “It was a good battle. Victory was not what mattered. There are certainly areas you can improve, Wizard Humphrey. Most predominantly, you are relying on large spells that will get you killed against an opponent that can slip a dagger through your guard. Of course, that’s far less of a problem when functioning as a member of a party, but perhaps it would not be amiss for you to spend some time working on your basics.”

“Yes, I completely agree,” Hump said. “I’ll be doing just that as I go forward with my practice.”

The man nodded. “Very good. I see no lack of strength to qualify you as a silver ranked adventurer. Congratulations, Wizard Humphrey. Ensure you have your guild medallion updated to your new ranking.”

“Thank you, Guildmaster,” Hump said.

“Now then, shall we begin the second test,” Francis looked at Celaine.

“Maybe we should give Vivienne a chance to rest first,” Celaine said.

“Ah, not to worry, dear. You will be fighting me.”

Celaine was up next, this time facing off against Francis Dordrel himself.

It turned out, one didn’t become the guild master of an Adventurer’s Guild branch without reason. Francis may have been an old man, but his skills were still as sharp as his blade. Celaine put up a fantastic fight, obscuring much of the battle in shadow and dodging around the man as she lay into him with a barrage of arrows, but he was a Chosen fighter an entire circle above her. Outside, where Celaine could ambush or utilise more distance, perhaps she would have stood a chance, but in the confined space of a duelling ring the advantage lay with the guildmaster.

The battle lasted a good ten minutes before finally Celaine started to slow. Francis swiped her arrows aside with his sword, or absorbed them on his blessing enhanced armour, simply outlasting her and eventually closing the distance. Celaine held her own with Bloodshadow for a while, but against a specialist with the sword, it was only a matter of time before Francis disarmed her.

“I surrender,” Celaine said.

Francis sheathed his blade and offered her a hand, helping her to her feet. “You are not someone I would want to face in an open space. That was most impressive, Celaine.”

“Not impressive enough.”

“Victory may have been mine, but that display was more than enough to pass. It is rare for us to have two new silver rankers in a single day, particularly two so young and with such talent. I wish you luck on your quest and will pray for your safe return.”

***

Joseph woke Hump early the next morning. The sun had not yet risen, so Hump used Spark to bring the fireplace to life, then summoned the sands of his Osidium ring to brighten the room and try to wake him up a bit.

Yawning, he rose from his bed, leaving Nisha to shelter under the covers from the light as he stepped over to where he’d prepared his new gear the night before. It had been a rushed job, but Sir Isaac managed to procure everything in time, even arranging it to be tailored for him and Celaine.

Hump couldn’t have asked for more. He donned the equipment quickly, feeling unlike himself as he gazed in the mirror. Every item was a level of finery he could hardly believe he owned. Boots of minotaur hide fit his feet perfectly, enchanted to immediately break in for any that wore them. Bracers of arcane steel protected his forearms, crafted with runes of Loften to store essence from the environment that he could draw upon for a quick supply of essence without draining his own reserves.

His battle robes were the finest of all. The Devilshorn Goat Battle Robes that Sir Isaac had first given him had served him spectacularly, but it was time for a change. The silver tier robes were a rich black, woven from the fine hair of ether alpacas—a variety of herbivores found only in fungi infested dungeons. Their essence rich diets led to fur that could channel essence perfectly, and that they would use to enhance its strength to resist both physical and magical attacks. When inactive, it was black as the shadows of the dungeon, but when activated it shone like ghostly flame.

It was a magnificent piece, made even finer by the silver thread embroidered along its edges. Around the skirt of the robes, the thread formed intricate silver flames.

“A fitting item for the White Flame Wizard, if you ask me,” Sir Isaac had said.

At the time Hump had been too stunned to come up with a witty reply. A pair of dark brown trousers completed the ensemble, though these were only bronze tier, they were still a fantastic piece.

In the end, the total cost had come to a little more than Hump and Celaine could afford, even with the essence stones they’d brought with them from Drakalyn, but an early payment from Countess Daston had covered what they could not and left them with enough to trade for spellbooks once they reached the Fallen Lands.

Taking up his staff, Hump could hardly believe the man that stared back at him in the mirror. He looked older. His hair was still short, maintained by Celaine to avoid another disaster like his old hair. In his new gear, he looked rich. Almost annoyingly so. He felt like one of those spellcasters that he’d always scorned at for dressing impractically fancy, but there was an edge to his clothes. He looked like a wizard ready to go to war.

Vivienne and Celaine were already downstairs.

It was strange to say goodbye to Vivienne so soon after arriving.

“You have given me much to work on,” she said. “Good luck to you.”

***

The streets were relatively quiet this early in the morning. The meeting point was a barracks in the Lower City. A large gathering of three hundred men and women waited for them, hard at work preparing wagons and horses for the long journey ahead. All of them were well equipped, with even the rookies amongst them wearing new mail vests and sturdy leather and cloth. Their spears were sharp, their helmets shining. Countess Daston armed her soldiers well.

Piles of crates and barrels were hauled into the waiting wagons, no doubt loaded with all the food, drink, and other supplies necessary to keep an army. Someone must have recognised him, because Hump heard whispers of the White Flame as he passed through the ranks toward where Marcela stood, overseeing the men. Len stood with her, his staff in hand. He was a Chosen of Avaroth and one of her party members.

“Glad you could make it,” she said. “Not too early for you.”

Hump chuckled. “Not at all. Looking forward to being on the road again.”

Marcela gave him an odd look. “You and I enjoy very different things, Hump, but to each their own. You’ll both be with me, so just relax until we’re ready to leave.” She gestured to the man beside her.

“You remember Len, don’t you?”

Hump smiled and shook his hand. “Of course.”

“Glad to have you with us,” Len said.

“Where’s Teff?” Hump asked. Marcela had lost much of her party in the Battle of Sheercliff, but the hunter had survived.

Marcela nodded toward the barrack doors behind them. “There’re a few familiar faces over there if you’re looking for a chat. As for Teff, he remained in Fort Nordric when I was injured.”

Hump followed her finger to where Randall, Madeleine, and Skander were waiting, along with Kesha, a member of Corvin’s party.

“No Corvin?” Hump asked.

“The Battle for Sheercliff changed him. I do not see him returning to fight. Not ever.”

It was a shame. He was a Chosen of Ordana, and a powerful fighter. Hump would have liked to have him with them.

“Ah, the White Flame Wizard is here,” Skander said cheerfully as they approached.

“That was you that pointed me out then,” Hump said, glaring at the small rogue.

Skander grinned. “Now who’s to say. Walking around with a dragon doesn’t help your disguise though.”

Randall stepped forward. His face was more gaunt than the last time Hump had seen him, his eyes haunted. “Good to see you both again.” He extended a hand and both Hump and Celaine shook.

“And you,” Hump said.

“Wasn’t sure we would be seeing you again after…” Celaine trailed off.

“After my father’s betrayal. “Randall frowned, the bitterness clear in his voice. “I had no part in it, let’s just get that out of the way. I will prove that at least my honour and loyalties are true.”

“It will be good to have you,” Hump said uncomfortably. “And I’m sure Bud will be pleased to see another Chosen of Kelisia.”

If he’s alive, that is, Hump thought, though decided not to voice that part.

Marcela was true to her word. Half an hour later, as the sun started to rise in the distant sky, they were ready to leave.

“Soldiers of the Expedition,” Marcela called. “Today, we march to Fort Nordric. To the Fallen Lands. And to the Infernal Halls!”

A cheer tore through the ranks, and then the crunch of metal and thud of boots echoed through the streets of Sheercliff City, for today, they marched northward.