100 Dealing with Demons part 1

Hidden deep in the forest stood a small fort made of stone. It was made within the last year. No doubt that there were some earth mages talented in construction among the demon's ranks. Bernard knew that it might be a while before the others find the bases in their territories, so he had some time before they started. If there was one thing an opponent should never do when facing mages, it was giving them time to prepare. Since they had to wait for Ronan to confirm the joint attacks, Bernard decided to prepare a large scale spell. Most mages would need to bring specific materials for spells of such magnitude.

Bernard, however, was not most mages. He had the ability to transmute matter. Making sure they they stayed hidden, he had those that were talented in illusion magic to make sure no one noticed them. Then he started his preparations while the valir and other troops watched in awe. A tree near Bernard started to bend and change color. It soon became a metallic pillar etched with complicated inscriptions. After he was finished with the first, he lead the group around the perimeter of the base to create more.

Eli kept an eye on things from atop the phoenix, while trying not ignore his fiancé snuggling against his arm. Unfortunately, the soft touch, soothing scent, and comforting presence of his lover were too big a hurdle to overcome. "Rel, can you stop clinging to me please. It's making it hard to pay attention to whats going on down there."

She kept her eyes closed smiled. Her voice was sweet and gentle. "Sorry honey, but I need an anchor in the material world while sending my senses into the ethereal plane. I'm making sure there are no surprises on the other side for us to worry about. Following your magical presence is easier if I touch you."

So far, there were no spiritual beings lingering in wait. In fact, it seemed as if the split between realms was filled with… static for lack of a better world. The closer to the base one got, the stronger the interference. It must have something to do with the ley-line they were on. After making sure that there were no enemies waiting to come from the ethereal plane, Relina's eyes opened. She felt a hand gently running from the top of her head to her back, gliding along her soft hair.

As Relina finished scouting the ethereal, Bernard also finished transforming trees into pillars. Now, he was making intricate patterns on the floor and connecting the pillars together to create a large magic circle. Maxed followed his lord with a slack jaw and an intense stare. Miri could practically see the sparkles of admiration twinkling in his eyes. She had to admit, watching a mage of Lord Malston's caliber create a large spell formation from almost nothing was amazing.

"What do you think it does?" Max whispered as he leaned towards his friend.

Miri took a minute to study some of the inscriptions, but the spell formula was to complicated"I'm not really sure, but I think it does a lot more than make a big boom."

"It's going to trap everyone in the area and create a very big boom right on top of that. It should shatter their defensive barrier and take out a few of those bastards." Bernard said as he pointed at the building full of demon worshippers. "If everything works as planned, and it will, it will shatter their protective barrier and keep anyone from escaping. Hopefully take out a bunch of the opposition in the process." There were a few more effects, but he didn't feel like explaining it to them.

It took a few hours for everything to be finished, glad that they weren't discovered by the enemy yet. Some of the mages were relieved that they didn't have to keep masking Bernard's spellcraft. He included an illusion function in the circle to disguise the pillars as trees so that they didn't need to use their own magic to keep themselves hidden now. The enchantment could last a days at most before fading, but the spell would be used before then. Bernard smiled to himself.

When it was later in the afternoon Bernard decided that they could break for dinner. Reaching into his experimental bag that Zeph inspired him to make, the old man realized something. The bag that used spacial magic make it bigger on the inside was a surplus of food from Manaburger. He forgot all about it when they spotted the cultists yesterday, but now he didn't need to worry about eating the same bland rations that they had earlier. Feeling generous, Bernard deiced that they all deserved a treat. Thankfully, the burgers were still good. Magic food was convenient like that. Everyone watched as their lord reached into the bag and pulled out a wrapped up piece of food to each person there. All of them were wondering how he managed to fit so many in that small bag.

"Oh sweet! Manaburger," Max cheered as he opened the wrapping to reveal a double bacon burger. Now why Lord Malston had enough burgers to feed a small army, no one knew. But, they were extremely grateful.

___

Somewhere in the city of Asperitus, a young fox-kin man looked up at the sky with an odd expression. The wolf-girl next to him asked what was wrong. "I don't know why, but it feels like I missed out on something important." With a shrug, he cast the odd sensation aside.

"Well the action flick is sold out, but I managed to get us some tickets to that horror movie." His sister joined the two other shifters after visiting the ticket counter of the movie theater.

"Hmm, must have been that," Zeph said as he scratched his chin in thought.

"Must have been what?" Bianca tilted her head.

Why did shifters look so adorable when they were confused. "Nothing sis. Hey, should we get popcorn?" Semara's tail answered the question immediately.?

___

Bernard was glad he had a bag of burgers. The bulk was meant to be eaten with Zeph and the boys. He wondered if Zeph's unique biology allowed him to eat more than a regular person, and decided to test it with an eating contest. As everyone was basking in the afterglow from the trip to flavor country, Ronan finally called. It was time.

Bernard told Eli and Relina come down from the skies. The two elves landed and Relina dismissed her phoenix As soon as everyone was gathered, Bernard Reached into his robe and pulled out his gun. He raised it towards the base and channeled his magic. "Bang."

The inscriptions on the pillars started to glow and intensified until they were almost blinding. When it seemed like the pillars could the entire area was bathed in a wall of light that started to shrink faster and faster. The cultists who were none the wiser saw the wave of light closing in on them. Their defensive barrier screeched and bent before shattering by the encroaching spell. Then, the circle of light closed in on the building and burst into a massive pillar of energy. The weaker ones fell to the purifying light as it purged the dark energies from their bodies. Unable to handle the strain, the fell lifelessly on the ground. The ones that survived fell to their knees as they experienced immense pain.

________

Kelbraga was smiling while he commanded his minions to clear the base. His master had informed him that he could finally leave this forsaken forest. It seems that their client violated his contract. He looked at the dark energies seeping from the ley-line into a large black crystal. Just a couple of things needed to be done before he could leave this unsavory realm and go home.

Since they no longer needed to wait for the new year to perform the ritual Lord Resdin had in mind, he and the other commanders were to harvest the dark energies from the ley line so they could make use of them back in the ethereal plane. It was a shame he wouldn't be around to see Malston's face when his follower completed their revenge. He wanted Malston to suffer for upsetting his master's plans. So he told the mind mage, Arthur Drunn, to kill the Lord's grandson.

The mind controller eagerly agreed, because he had his own score to settle. After the mind mage taught some of the other followers a few tricks, the man decided to infiltrate the school.

That was weeks ago. Apparently it wouldn't be easy because of the precautions made to keep the boy and his friends safe. Arthur only made into the bulding because he refused the demon's offer. He man only joined because their goals aligned. It didn't mater though, as long as Malston suffered. the mage should have had enough time to work his magic on the students and should make his move any time now. Soon, he'd have revenge, leave this forsaken plane, and be back home slaughtering to his heart's content. There would be no more sneaking, just plain, simple, straightforward battle.

The demon was lost in thought imagining the glorious conflict that would take place in his slice of Lord Resdin's territory. That was where he belonged, conquering more territory for his master. He could practically hear the screams of his enemies. They were so vivid and so close that he could taste the fear and despair in the air.

Then he felt the ground shake and the screams became louder. A white flash of light slammed into him and sent him to his knees.

____

As soon as the light faded, the mages and fighters wasted no time charging into battle. The large scale spell struck them so fast that they were unable to react. Caught by surprise and now injured, the cultists put up little resistance. They were no match for trained fighters and mages.

After making short work of the cultists out side, they made their way into the poorly lit fort filled with dark energies. The soldiers spread, taking different paths to clear out the enemy. They shot waves of magic around every corner and made sure to keep their defenses up. Explosive spells were limited to prevent the building from falling down around them. Bernard, Eli and Relina used their magic senses to find the largest source of demonic energy. Eli and Bernard readied their revolvers and Relina summoned her familiar. It was a small humanoid figure with wings shrouded in light.

As they were walking through the corridor, fighter's were engaging cultists in close combat while the mages used their new revolvers to provide ranged support. The revolvers came in useful for many situations because each chamber allowed them to quick cast a different spell. Cultists were starting to put up more of resistance as they delved deeper into the building, bringing out their own summoned creatures. They were small imp-like creatures partnered with the cultists similar to the ones in the camp they attacked earlier. These, however, were larger and stronger.

Bernard watched as a fighter swing a sword of light and beheaded one of the imps while a shot the cultist behind it. To his surprise, the small demon created a shield of shadow to block them both while his summoner shot a ball of dark flame in retaliation. The cylinder on the mages revolver spun and the mage pulled the trigger creating a white barrier to defend. Then he spun the cylinder again and shot out a line of electricity to stun the cultist. His warrior ally took the opening and cut the summoner down. Without him, the imp lost his source of energy and fell quickly after. Things were going well.

Max and Miri were walking ahead of Eli and Bernard, leading them through the fort. They were heading towards the largest source of demonic energy in the building and killing any cultist or demon in their way. It was no surprise that the fighters and mages were winning. After all, the cultists were made of untrained men and women who were weak with magic to begin with. Without the little imps beside them, the fight would be effortless. "Man, if things keep going like this, I won't have a chance to play." He tilted his head to avoid a black ball of energy. Then he lifted his hand up and a spike of earth erupted out of the ground do skewer the imp that tried to attack them.

"That's a good thing. Remember we still don't know how strong the leader is." Miri stated while sweeping the area in front of her with a cone of white fire.

"Still, I thought we would have much more of a problem. That white pillar must have really softened them up." Max led them around a corner and created a wall of earth to block several energy blasts.

Bernard laughed. "The white pillar helped purify the dark magic in the area. They'll find themselves weakened quite a bit."

"Thank you Lord Malston," Miri shouted over the sound of spells hitting the earthen barrier. She peaked over the side and shot several spears of white flame. Four painful screams let her know she hit her targets. Then the group moved on.

Relina followed after them and made sure all the fallen enemies were truly dead. A few tried to fake death, only to be turned to ash by flash of light. Then plants started to sprout from the remains. Relina had summoned a fairy to fight for her. The palm-sized fey giggled as it flew down the hall replacing the sight of fallen foes with flowers and greenery. The plants helped purify the air of the negative energy permeating the grounds. With this, they wouldn't have to worry about malevolent spirits being born after they left this place. Eli stayed in the back and guarded the rear. No enemies had tried to follow after them so far.

As they went further into the base, the sounds of battle started to fade. They were almost at the target. Max and Miri easily cut through the opposition while the approached what they assumed was the demonic master of these idiots. As they got closer, they felt several strong magical signatures ahead of them rise suddenly and change. Before, the cultists' magic felt like a regular person's but tainted with demonic energy. These four signatures felt like a demon tainted with a human's magic now .

Max put prepared to use more power to take these new arrivals out. "I guess these guys are the elite guard. They feel stronger than the others, but still not enough to give us trouble."

Suddenly, more demonic energy signs started to flare up. Miri just looked at max with no small hint of annoyance. "You just had to say something."