The Road

  Retired. The word was a comforting thought in her head. Gremfel was tired, a weariness only a long life of guardianship and mortal danger could bring. She lay back in the saddle, leaving the reins to rest on the horse's back. He knew how to get where they were going.

  Creops. Home. The horse might not know it was carrying Gremfel Wizarian, Wizard King, guardian of the great country of Creops; he certainly knew the way.

  Gremfel smiled. Even horses could process visual information sufficient to know, “this way home.”

  The horse was just a horse. Just one of the horses from the Arcanum. He was a good boy anyway. Gremfel fondly thumped his neck.

  To any casual observer, Gremfel was an old woman relaxing in a saddle on an uninteresting horse. No guards. Defenceless. They would be mistaken.

  She was slightly more interesting - just the Wizard King. Among the most powerful wizards in the world at the moment. There weren't many people, or creatures for that matter, that were any sort of threat to her.

  Her silver hair, pleated into a braid that trailed down her back. She wore no jewellery, never finding need for enchanted mechanics. Even her current mask, finest mahogany and Brazil wood with inlaid ivory orange blossoms, was “normal.”

  Gremfel always wore a mask. Ahhh vanity. She had a large collection of masks, most of them normal, some with small spells, light and such.

  Her shields were many, layered, active and strong. Gremfel might be tired, but her magic was nonetheless formidable. You did not make it to Wizard King if you were sloppy with your shields.

  Gremfel was not sloppy in any regard. She was notorious in her attention to detail, her precision. She was shielded against Clerical and Wizard Power, gases, projectiles, liquids, animals, people, movement, and lastly, they all had an “intent” component.

  Intention was baked into Power. You couldn't just form a spell, you had to do it with intention. Power was creation, existence itself. You had to want, mean, desire the spell

  Mice that were enchanted to attack would never reach her, but mice just trying to get a seed in the grass nearby were unhindered. Her shields wouldn't stop a gust of wind; they would, famously, stop a charging rhino. That had been kind of tragically funny, the look on that poor animal's face.

  She also had her most useful defences active and powered. Flowing from her and out through her shields, if you were sensitive enough to see - and they were very hard to see even then - were thin black tendrils that writhed and flowed out in random directions.

  Gremfel's IME – from “I” and “ME” - wizards and their terrible spell names. Tipped with just the tiniest bit of Gremfel's intention. They were designed to constantly announce her presence, “Here I am. Gremfel. I am over here.” Each tendril tip would 'appear' to any trap spell or powered animal to be Gremfel herself setting off traps or attracting animals to the IME instead of Gremfel.

  It gave her an almost guaranteed first attack. With Gremfel, if you lived past the first round, you were, “best to be running, boy.” You likely weren't going to survive the second.

  Not that Gremfel was keen to kill off an opponent; she just wasn't squeamish about it either.

  A small “click” off the right side of the road proved the IME was working. A quick investigation revealed a rabbit snare had been tripped by one of her IMEs. Some young lad would be deprived of pocket change for the fur.

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  Gremfel remounted and nudged the horse back out onto the road. He had other ideas. In coming to this patch of apple trees along the roadside he was obviously intending on snarfing up a few of the freebies.

  Good rains this year; this tree looked to have a good harvest. Gremfel was in no hurry, let him take his time.

  A black cat ran out from the bushes and darted back just as quickly.

  Gremfel sat rigid. That cat!

  The horse had just stooped for an apple when a sudden mass hit Gremfel.

  There had been perhaps a tenth of a second before impact, when Gremfel's mind kicked into full awareness. Not relaxing anymore, she rolled to her left in the saddle. Prep Lev-bolt salvo. Her right arm was still free but the rest of her was pinned under some heavy thing.

  Collect information! Animal. Skeletal. Four meters. Hide, tatters, bits of flesh. Fangs, claws. A bear.

  Its muzzle opened and fangs dashed for Gremfel's face. She twisted her head, fangs scraping along her mask. She fired off a set of Lev-bolts, enough to kill an elephant. Wasted. They passed straight through the bear, not slowing it in the slightest. Better to waste them trying than to drop them.

  Both Gremfel and the bear fell to the ground; Gremfel rolling away and getting to her feet in an instant. The surprised horse spun, kicked the bear bacwards and bolted into the bushes.

  Gremfel had a moment for a look. A very interesting trap - and one, she knew immediately, set for her.

  The bear charged, nearly crushing Gremfel. Before she could react, the weight was back on her. Without flesh, the bear was quick.

  Was it trying to pin her? Was the trap meant to hold her in place? Well, that wasn't likely going to happen. If someone out there was waiting for her to become incapacitated, they would have to keep waiting.

  Gremfel sent a Push. The skeletal bear dug in its claws and only moved a few meters away. It began to circle around the prostrate wizard.

  All right, problem one: the bear could get through her shields. That should not have been possible. To have an adversary inside your shields was a strong death threat.

  Second problem: there wasn't anything she could kill – no heart to Pierce.

  Third problem: someone had set the animation spell with precison. The bear was reacting defensively.

  Gremfel had more than enough Power in reserve to deal with the bear, but checked for lines of Power in the area anyway. One major line and maybe a hundred minor lines. She snapped up all the minor lines. Easy enough.

  This time the bear leapt into the air - another attempt to grab and pin her.

  Third pinning attack, coming in from above.

  Her attacker was likely nearby, watching. If her attacker was nearby and not assisting in the battle, it was because they were testing Gremfel's abilities.

  This was a test.

  Show them.

  Gremfel began to draw Power at an increased rate while maintaining a Push on the bear to keep it at bay. With what was left in her reserves, waiting like a coiled spring, she had maybe sixty-five percent of her maximum.

  If she drew the major line, she'd be closer to eighty. It would be good to have her attacker see her ease handling that much Power.

  A flush of heat spread across her skin as she drew in the Power. You stopped when the heat became uncomfortable. That was your limit. More Power than you could truly handle and you risked bursting into flame - or exploding.

  Gremfel had barely begun to gather the major line when the bear charged again. Gremfel pulled Power up under her and rose into the air. The bear leapt, missing just beneath her feet.

  Momentum carried the bear past her. It spun, baring its fangs - longer now they lacked gums. Rising on it's back legs, the bear was slashing with its long bony claws. It had not grunted or growled. Could not, without vocal cords.

  That was worse, somehow.

  She sent a Push in an attempt to squash the bear against the ground. The bear flattened immediately.

  To Gremfel's amazement, the bear was able to get its legs under it and force itself slightly upward against the Push. Gremfel increased the force. The bear shuddered but did not fall.

  Enough of that. Gremfel fed her full Power into the Push - the bear shattered.

  Gremfel lowered herself to the ground.

  “Well, let's see what you are, my friend.” She gave a short whistle and a trill to call the horse, 'all's well.' He'd be back in a minute. The bear's secrets now.

  The first and most obvious fact: there was a gap in her shields. An animated dead would count as an enchanted creature and her shield should have blocked it.

  The second fact: someone else knew about the gap. A quick check and yes, there were six other identical traps across the road. Most had buried creatures, but all activated the same way, a small black marble.

  And there was the gap.