by Saless
Chapter 36

"A curse, you say? It must be a terrible curse, indeed, to need such skilled and powerful help! You're in luck, there's a wizard of the sort you describe just off this road. We're not going there, but you are welcome to travel with us until we reach the fork in the road that leads to his tower." The robed man said. His companions looked at him with anger or curiosity.

"Really? That would be great!" Sarah exclaimed, thinking that maybe she had a chance of succeeding.

"Excellent! There is one problem though." He replied ominously.

Sarah frowned, "What kind of problem?"

"There are quite a few monsters in this area. It is unlikely that we'll get to the fork in the road without being attacked. We will want you to contribute to our defense." He explained.

"Oh. Well, I guess I can help." Sarah said dubiously.

"You seem doubtful, do you not know any offensive spells?" he asked curiously.

"Um, no, not really." Sarah replied, realizing he must have seen her arrive and thought she was a wizard herself.

"Hmm, well, this should help." He said, handing a simple wooden wand to her. "This wand is charged with a fireball spell. If we are attacked, aim it where you want the blast to land and say 'vascor'. Just make sure none of us are within at least ten feet of your target before you use it!"

Sarah nodded and took the wand. It didn't seem like anything special. There were a few strange runes carved into it at the tip, but otherwise it was just a smooth wooden rod. She kept a firm grip on it and recited the word over and over in her mind to make sure she didn't forget it. Once he'd handed over the wand the group reformed and began walking again, with Sarah next to the man who gave her the wand.

As they were walking something occurred to Sarah and she asked him, "Why did you give me this wand, isn't it rather valuable?"

To Sarah's surprise he laughed! "No, not really." He began to explain, "It's an old wand and only has enough power for one or two more spells. It should be enough to help if we're attacked, though."

Sarah nodded and they continued on in silence. The sun was well on its way down when there was a series of growls and suddenly they were surrounded by several dog-like, small men wielding crude weapons. They didn't give the travelers much time to react, but they were well used to this sort of thing and the three men in plate armor met them with swords drawn.

The man in chain mail armor pulled a mace from a thong at his belt and joined in, while the other man drew a throwing knife and held it, waiting for a good opportunity. Sarah stayed at his side, not sure what to do. She soon realized they didn't need her help, as the dog-men were getting massacred! There were at least a dozen of them, but their small size and lack of skill or armor left them at a distinct disadvantage. Half of them were dead, and several injured, when a loud roar was heard from the edge of the forest and a large human-like creature came barreling out of the trees. He was carrying a large club that looked more like a tree trunk than anything else.

The dog-men scattered to avoid him, but the travelers met his charge head on. One of the fleeing dog-men was caught up with one of the swordsman when the behemoth swung his club. Both were knocked well back into the forest and out of sight. The other two swordsmen took advantage of the distraction to attack it, but their swords caused little damage to its tough hide. The man with the mace held up some kind of symbol in his other hand and chanted something that Sarah couldn't understand. A blast of energy shot out of his hand and struck the creature square in the chest. It was temporarily stunned, but it seemed to have no other effect.

The fifth man dropped his throwing dagger and chanted his own spell. Lightning shot out and struck the behemoth, causing it to cry out in pain. It tried to get to the wizard, but his friends pressed their attack and fenced him in. Sarah looked at the wizard questioningly, holding up the wand, but he shook his head. "Too close." He said. Sarah nodded and watched as he and his friend blasted the creature with more spells and the warriors continued to hack and slash at it.

They were all so focused on the large monster that they completely missed the return of three dog-men. Their first warning was when one of the warriors cried out in pain as the dagger of one of the dog-men was buried deep into his side. He fell and the last warrior was forced to split his attention between the larger monster and the three smaller ones. He was soon flying through the air with two of those dog-men from another swing of the creature's giant club. The wizard quickly finished off the last dog-man with a spell and then turned his attention back to the larger monster.

He glanced meaningfully at his friend and then blasted the creature with a spell that seemed to freeze it in place. "That won't last long, come on we've got to find the others!" he told Sarah, and all three of them fled into the forest, the injured warrior on the other spell caster's shoulder.

They soon found the other two warriors battling the remaining dog-men. There were three dead at their feet and two still fighting. They ran over behind them and laid down the injured warrior. The armored spell caster began praying over the injured man and the wizard turned back towards the direction they came from, watching for the large monster to return.

Another dog-man died before the behemoth returned. It came straight at the wizard, but was met with a column of flame from his palm. He stopped and put his arms up to protect his face from the flames, but was clearly in pain. The third warrior was just getting to his feet when a new threat appeared. This creature was cat-like, but huge! It also had strange tentacles growing from its shoulders and was strangely hard to look at. It struck one of the warriors down with one blow before he had a chance to defend himself. The cleric attacked the remaining dog-man so the warriors could concentrate on this new threat.

The dog-man seemed as afraid of the cat-like creature as anything, and was so distracted by its appearance that the cleric easily knocked it out. Meanwhile, the behemoth had recovered from the wizard's attack and charged again. This time it ran straight into a protective shield. It clawed away at it, but failed to get through to the wizard. Sarah looked on helplessly as the battle unfolded around her. Things were happening much too fast for her to contribute anything, especially since her only weapon was as dangerous for them as it was for their enemies!

The warriors were having no luck striking the monster that had so easily felled their comrade, and were hard pressed not to join him. The cleric decided to free up the wizard from the monster attacking him and erected a magical barrier of golden light between them. The wizard smiled at him and then began pelting the other beast with small magical projectiles. He didn't seem to have the same problem as the warriors hitting it, but his attacks weren't accomplishing much. The cleric joined him in blasting the cat-like monster, but his spells were equally ineffective.

The spell casters turned when they heard the roar of the behemoth, who was about to break down the barrier. "Use the wand!" the wizard shouted.

Sarah nodded and pointed the wand at the creature and yelled out, "Vascor!" A small ball of fire shot forth from the wand and struck the creature in the chest, exploding into a small firestorm. Sarah was knocked from her feet, as were the wizard, cleric, and the monster she hit with the fireball. They weren't injured, but it was. Even so, it still climbed to its feet and roared in anger and pain. The cleric held up his holy symbol and muttered another spell. Nothing seemed to happen at first, and Sarah was about ready to try the wand again, when a pillar of fire shot down from the sky and engulfed the monster. This was just too much for the behemoth and he felt to the ground, a charred corpse.

Their celebrations were short-lived, however, as both warriors cried out in pain. One fell with blood gushing from his throat. The other was holding his side with one hand while trying to continue to wield his sword with the other. His efforts were ineffectual and he soon joined his friend in death.