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  “Feckle, as the only alien among us, you will accompany Gitch on this quest.”

  Gitch locked eyes with a startled grey fairy whose shocked face most assuredly matched his own. Feckle expressed his appreciation for this grand opportunity to serve his people accordingly. “Holy crappalooney!”

  Chapter 26

  Gitch had to get rid of that pesky grey fairy. Feckle was openly arguing with the grey trainer, desperately trying to escape the mission. Gitch was just about to plead his case, but then Dwik stepped forward.

  “I’ll be comin’ too,” he declared.

  “Dwik, if you come, you will 100% not come back. Why would you do this?”

  “I can’t just leave my friends now, can I? I’m a better gnome than that,” he said as a matter of fact.

  Gitch was touched. He and Dwik had come a long way since they had first met. A lot can change in just a few days.

  “Thanks, Dwik. I appreciate that, buddy.”

  Dwik burst out laughing. It was a good thing the imps were still above the lake. If they were any nearer, there is no way they would not have heard the obnoxious gnome. “I was talkin’ about me goats! Hehehe! But I suppose yer right, ain’t no way yer gonna finish this without good ol’ Dwik there too,” Dwik finished with another laughing fit before turning to talk with Goldie in private.

  Gitch, still bristling, flew up to Alpha and scratched her favorite spots.

  “You know girl, you will need to go with those fairies, right? It is too dangerous where we go now.”

  Alpha stared him right in the eyes. She cocked her head and opened her mouth in a sharp-toothed smile.

  “OOOOHH! I LIKE WHEN GITCH FAIRY MAKE JOKE! YOU SO CUTE WHEN YOU TRY BE FUNNY! YES! YES! I GO WITH YOU SILLY FRIEND! YOU LEAVE ME BEHIND AGAIN, AND I EAT YOUR WINGS SO YOU NO LEAVE AGAIN! YES! YES!”

  Soooo... Alpha was coming too. By the look Goldie was giving Dwik, it didn’t look like the gnome was having any better luck. Dwik just shook his head and the two joined Alpha and Gitch. Feckle shambled over as well, having lost the fight with his trainer.

  “So, I guess we are the Fellowship of the-”

  “Oh, shut up Samwise!” Feckle spat out, obviously resentful for being chosen. For a fairy, Gitch found him a bit of a downer. The trainer cast a spell that seemed to linger on the five of them like a thin sheet. He gave a satisfied nod and told them to wait for the queen to wake once more.

  The third Trilit ball must have been a critical hit, because the stun duration lasted much longer than either of the other two. When she finally woke, Gitch grew very fond of his temporary invisibility. She looked around once, probably to send a murderous curse his way. When she didn’t see him, she picked herself up and flew back to the beach in silence. They all followed.

  Gitch saw the imps swarming above the lake, searching for Queen Tibura. Apparently, Gitch had done a pretty good job at giving them the slip, though in reality, the confusion caused by the aquatic fairies might have been the real reason for his success.

  Queen Tibura wasted no time. She charged up one of her mega spells and cast it towards a large cluster of imps above the lake. He heard shrieks of pain issue from their impy mouths as dozens of them fell from the sky with tails of blue flame following them down. From his angle, it looked almost like a meteor shower.

  Her one spell was enough to draw the eyes of every imp warrior to the beach. The queen of the Fae appeared all alone, given that the grey fairies had all since turned invisible. A great throaty cry rang out from those overhead, and as one, the evil army dove straight for her. She sent another spell upwards, but then turned and fled into the trees. Having successfully garnered their attention, the queen and her group of greys would now make the long trip back to the glade where the rest of the fairies were lying in wait.

  Meanwhile, Gitch and his small band ran along the thin walkway that crossed the lake. They weren’t sure how long the invisibility enchantment would last, but going around would have taken too much time. Still, even though they were invisible, Gitch did not like the sight of thousands of imps flying directly above him. They were careful not to give themselves away, but the thudding of the wolves’ feet hitting the stone path seemed as loud as an elephant walking on, well, anything. He was on edge.

  The enchantment held for a good long while, just not long enough. They made it 80% across before turning visible once more. As they had never lost the ability to see one another, none of them were immediately aware of their predicament. The first sign of trouble was when a trio of imps latched themselves on to Alpha’s flank. She cried out in pain and nearly tumbled off the path and into the bloody lake. Gitch, who was riding Alpha, instantly cast Trilit, and threw a ball at each of their ugly faces.

  Congratulations! Trilit has increased to level 4!

  Stun duration per ball amended to 2 minutes, minus 24 seconds per rank of positive alignment

  Damage per ball increased to 20, plus 4 additional damage per rank of negative alignment

  He nailed two of them in the face, but the third let go on its own accord. The imp whistled an alarm and another dozen imps came flapping their way. The main forces were passed them, but Gitch didn’t want or need any extra visitors. He scooped out his last gloop fruit and lathered up Alpha’s side with its juices. He stuck the fruit’s skin in her mouth and told her to quickly eat. It was so satisfying to now be able to crush the fruit himself without having to rely on his weapon. Perks of extra strength!

  Once he had tended to Alpha, he looked back to see the imps closing in. “Hurry! We need to reach the wall before we draw any more attention to ourselves! Dwik, Feckle, take out those imps!” Gitch whisper-shouted.

  Dwik turned around atop Goldie and slung a stone at the approaching imps. He clipped one in the side, but hit another full in the face. Both were sent sprawling. Gitch cast wing blast, causing one to plunge into the water, but the rest resisted the secondary extreme disorientation effect. Nine were coming, and they still had a way to go before they hit the wall.

  The imps were nearly upon them when Feckle decided it was time to join the battle. He raised his left hand half-heartedly at the imps and chanted an incantation under his breath. A look of terror appeared on their faces, and they took off flying in the opposite direction as fast as possible.

  “Feckle, what was that?” Gitch asked in astonishment.

  The grey fairy chuckled to himself and said simply, “I made them see three Deathclaws in our place.”

  “Deathclaws?”

  “Before your time, noob,” he said smugly.

  “Prick,” Gitch mumbled under his breath.

  They reached the wall unimpeded just a short time later. Gitch thought the hole in the wall would be the best way for them to enter, but due to the winglessness of their companions, that was not an option... or was it? Gitch had an idea. He had only done this once before, but he remembered the gist of it. He flew up to Dwik and put a hand on his shoulder. Sure enough, the option was still there.

  Mana Influx Target: Dwik

  Mana received: 0 points

  Chance of Spontaneous Combustion: 4%

  Options Available to Gnome Race:

  Flight (1 hour)-594 points

  Heal-99 points per wound

  Enlargement (10 minutes)-545 points*

  595 points of mana. That was a lot, considering his maximum was 609. He went to Alpha and tried infusing mana into her as well.

  Mana Influx Target: Alpha

  Mana Received: 0 points

  Chance of Spontaneous Combustion: 8%

  Options available to Lupine race:

  Flight (1 hour)-297 points

  Heal-99 points per wound

  Fewer options, but at least the cost was reduced for the two wolves.

  “Alright, here’s the plan. The front entrance is sure to be guarded, but that hole in the wall should be safe-ish. Dwik, Goldie, and Feckle will go in first. Alpha and I will follow once my mana regenerates. Feckle, I assume you have at least 297 mana to
infuse Goldie?”

  Feckle scratched his head and said, “Yeah, okay sure... What are you talking about?”

  Gitch smiled at him. “It’s okay, noob. Just put your hand on her-GENTLY!” he added when he saw Goldie bare her teeth at the snobbish fairy. He had never seen the wolves snarl at a fairy before. They seemed to like all of his kind in fact, but even they could tell this guy was a jerk.

  “Like this?” Feckle asked. He had gripped her tail with both hands, but looked scared to death that the wolf was about to bite off his head. If he kept it up, she just might, Gitch thought to himself.

  “Uh, sure. Now channel some of your mana from your core, through your hands, and into Goldie. Try to keep it at 100 points.”

  Feckle gripped the tail harder and scrunched his face together. His eyes were fixed on the she-wolf, who was looking more annoyed at the cling-on with each passing second. With a final grunt, he let go and beamed at them.

  “And that’s how it’s done! You should have warned me about the 60% chance for combustion. It’s a good thing I’m so skilled,” he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

  Gitch rushed over and set a hand on Goldie’s leg. Partially to keep her from ripping his head off, partially to examine just how much ‘help’ the grey fairy had been.

  Mana Influx target: Goldie

  Mana received: 6 points

  Chance of Spontaneous Combustion: 8%

  Options Available to Lupine Race:

  Flight (1 hour)-297 points

  Heal-99 points per wound

  The grey twerp had only transferred 6 points of mana, and did so with a 60% chance for spontaneous combustion! He remembered Kazi mentioning color magic may react differently for each user, but this was nuts!

  “Hey Feckle?” Gitch said softly, trying to suppress his surprise and rage. The wolves looked downright murderous.

  “Yes, noob?” the grey fairy replied cheerfully.

  “Umm... how about you head on up and scout the inner room. We’ll be right up.”

  “It sure doesn’t take much to impress you guys. Don’t worry, I got the room. Take your time,” Feckle said as he shot up to the hole.

  They watched him go without saying a word. It wasn’t until he was out of sight before Goldie spoke up.

  “I DID NOT THINK FAIRIES STILL MATED WITH THEIR LITTERMATES. NO! NO! I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT ONE’S PARENTS! YES! YES! YES!”

  “Aye, inbred twonk indeed! Now, about us flying up there. Can ya still do it?” Dwik asked Gitch.

  “Yeah, I can do it, some of us will just be out here in the open a little longer than I would like. I think I will send you wolves first, that way each side has a ranged and melee fighter. Just don’t kill Feckle, okay?” Alpha nodded, but Goldie lowered her head and wouldn’t look him in the eyes. He would be raising Alpha first.

  Gitch placed his hand on her and spent the necessary mana to send her flying. She had already lifted into the air when he did the same for Goldie.

  Congratulations! Mana Influx has increased to level 3!

  -2% chance for spontaneous combustion

  -2% mana cost

  He felt mentally drained as he took a seat on the ground and watched the two wolves ‘dog-paddle’ through the air while Dwik stood guard.

  Alpha began acting peculiar once she neared the gaping hole. Gitch hadn’t known her long, but he could tell when she was excited about something. Her tail was wagging furiously, and great droplets of spittle fell from her mouth as she panted with her tongue out. She swung her large head from side to side as she sniffed the air, but still had the presence of mind not to bark or howl.

  He was so busy watching Alpha that he almost missed something fly out of the hole. It was that annoying Feckle fairy once again, but why would Alpha be that worked up over that snot bubble?

  “IMP! Right behind me! HELP!” Feckle cried. Gitch was more concerned about the noise than one pesky imp, but he readied himself for the coming attack all the same. Dwik cocked a stone back, but both wolves reacted as if nothing was wrong. They either had extreme self-confidence or were perfectly fine with an imp taking out Feckle before getting involved. Likely both, now that Gitch gave it some thought.

  A lone imp flew out of the hole, chasing the grey fairy to the ground.

  “Rawr! I’m an imp, fear me! I will kill you and use your skull as a-oh, hey guys! What’s up?”

  Gitch flew into the air to embrace his friend. “Kraz! Man, I thought you were dead!”

  “Nah, just doing my job, unlike pretty much everyone else. Guess I shouldn’t blame them, though. I think that spider crap only works on fairies,” Kraz said as he returned the hug.

  “But how did you get out? We were all trapped.”

  “Because I am freaking awesome, that’s how! Now, go get your boy there and tell him everything’s alright. I think he might be having a panic attack,” Kraznik said with a mischievous smile.

  “Ah screw him, let him figure it out. Or not, whatever. Come help me with Dwik. I think together we can just lift him up instead of waiting for my mana to regenerate.”

  “Are you serious? They sent you guys to finish the mission?!?” Kraznik asked in disbelief.

  “Well... Yeah. I mean, we are pretty freaking awesome ourselves! Now get your booty down here. We have a gnome to deliver!” Gitch said as he descended back down to where Dwik still stood.

  Dwik was not a fan of being lifted up, and he let them know it the entire way. “Just sprinkle that dust on me too, ya maggoty pickled pricks! Put me down-THAT IS NOT A HANDLE!” he shouted as Kraznik let go of his thick white beard with a smirk. Dwik continued to grumble the rest of the way, but Gitch and Kraznik paid his insults, curses, and promises of retribution little mind.

  They entered through the hole, with both wolves and a hesitant Feckle following close behind. There was a smoldering fire in the front corners of the rectangular room, and seven charred bodies were still burning along the southern wall. Looking around, he saw dozens of burnt beds and broken chests.

  “They must have been part of the garrison stationed to defend the wall. Let’s search the chests and split what we find,” Gitch suggested.

  Those with opposable thumbs quickly opened each of the chests that hadn’t been destroyed from the fairies’ initial assault. There were 11 or so still intact, but each and every one was empty. Kraz was standing off by himself, not looking at any of them. Gitch eyed him suspiciously, but let it go. The imp had been here for a while. Why not do some looting?

  Dwik slammed the lid to the final chest down hard. “Nothin’ here but dust and lint! Why would they keep a bunch of empty chests in the barracks?”

  Gitch looked knowingly at Kraznik, but he wouldn’t out him. He would let the imp try and wriggle his way out if he could.

  Kraz looked a bit uneasy as he glanced up at the gnome. “Maybe they took all their stuff with them to battle? Imps are known to steal, ya know. Anything left behind was likely not going to be here when they returned.” He pointed at the chest Dwik had just opened. “Case in point. Trust issues, the lot of them.”

  “Selfish bastards,” Dwik grumbled. “So where to now, impy?”

  It was evident by the way Kraznik clenched his fist together and gritted his teeth that he was not thrilled about being called ‘impy’. Nevertheless, he answered the gnome. “That door there should lead to a long corridor with many more rooms like this one. They station the majority of their warriors in the wall, which makes mounting a defense that much easier. With any luck, we won’t meet any more defenders until we reach the inner sections of the base. Maybe.”

  They all took a moment to ponder his words. Gitch didn’t like the lack of confidence coming from Kraznik, but there had been little hope to begin with. Like it or not, they had to keep going. Failure was an option for some, but meant the final death for many of his new friends and allies. That was unacceptable.

  “Well, you heard him,” Gitch said with as much positivity he could muster. “Let’s move!”
r />   There wasn’t a smiling face among them, but they still followed him to the door. They all knew what was at stake, even Feckle. He trailed in the back but made no move to retreat... much to Goldie’s regret.

  They left the room behind and entered into a wide corridor that must have stretched the entirety of the gorge. The hall was lined with doors, each presumably leading to a room identical to the one they just left. As they trudged along, Gitch silently prayed that they too were empty.

  Each of Dwik’s footsteps seemed a little louder than the last, and the panting of each wolf began to grate on his eardrums more and more. He was certain that at any moment a door they just passed would swing open, releasing a swarm of bloodthirsty imps. That thought made him gulp loud enough for Kraznik to look back at him with a “Did you freaking just do that?” expression. Gitch merely shrugged his shoulders as an apology.

  The hall was sparsely lit with torches on either side. They were spaced too far apart, in Gitch’s opinion, with their flickering flames causing the many shadows to creep and dance along the bare walls. Unlike the fairy Banyan Tree , this place was not adorned in the least. There were no tapestries, paintings, sculptures, or anything else. Just old, barren walls of stone. It did little to calm his nerves, which is why he almost lost it when Kraznik put up a hand to bring them to a halt outside of one ominous, black door. Feckle actually peeped out a small scream, to which Alpha and Goldie both flipped their heads back and bared their teeth in a silent snarl. He turned his invisibility back on and didn’t utter another sound.

  Kraznik shook his head and gestured them all to back up against the wall. Once done, he slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Gitch didn’t peg the Kraz as suicidal, but then again he had gone through a great ordeal in the last few weeks.

  Gitch had seen enough horror films to know what would come next. He stood there waiting for the blood curdling scream. He slowly drew his needle, readying himself for the fight to come.

  The door creaked back open after one of the longest minutes of his fairy life. Gitch didn’t hesitate as he thrust his sewing needle in the opening to kill the leading imp. As luck would have it, he missed entirely.