Hounds Rising
Crystallize

As Ana teleported Myla and herself away, Mr. Muffins raised Jimbo. The shadows around Helena had grown steadily, and he waited for his shot. To his left, about thirty yards out, he could see shadows forming on the ground and rising.

She’s about to move.

He turned to the left, calculated her height, and pulled the trigger. The hammer smacked into the crystal inside the barrel, sending three bolts of fire through the air at an amazing speed. Helena’s body appeared in her new space, and she couldn’t react in time as the bolts hit her. She stumbled back, hissing as she looked toward her assailant and fired a line of lightning in his direction.

Quickly, he pulled his metal orb from his pocket and threw it in front of him as he dodged behind a tree. The lightning struck the sphere, activating it, and it transformed on the ground into a small ballista canon.

“Now!” He commanded.

The ballista shot out, sending an arcane force through the grass, raising as it hit Helena in the chest. She screamed in pain, dropping to her knees momentarily before rolling away from a flying javelin thrown by Rhokhishi, who was closing the distance.

Mr. Muffins watched, afraid to hit Rhokhishi. She raised her arm and let the creature fly off, moving around the elf as she slammed her warhammer down. The distraction by the beast was effective, as the hammer connected with Helena’s face and threw her to the ground.

Mr. Muffins raised Jimbo again, ready to shoot, but Leaf jumped in his way.

Damn it! He thought to himself.

Moving from the tree would allow Helena to attack him, but everyone kept getting in the way. He ran to the next tree, leaned his shoulder against it, and fired. Fire erupted again, barely missing Helena this time.

He watched as Lyla made her way over, connecting multiple attacks and causing Helena not to be able to aim her lightning strikes, which were now hitting the dark clouds rolling in. Mr. Muffins looked up, and then a realization came across his face.

“Watch out!” He shouted to Leaf.

Lyla’s attack had stunned Helena, but it didn’t stop the next barrage of attacks. Lightning struck down from the sky, supercharged by the elf’s magic, and hit Leaf with so much force that it caused a concussive blast to gust the wind away from him. Mr. Muffins raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light.

Leaf fell to the ground, and Mr. Muffins wasn’t sure if he was alive. He ran forward, dropped to his knees, and checked on him.

“Don’t you go dying on me, kid.”

“I’m… I’m okay…” Leaf coughed out, his spellbook laid next to him, showing a spell that Mr. Muffins recognized.

“You fucking absorbed the lightning?” He laughed, amazed.

“Some of it.”

The lightning didn’t stop, though. Thunder shattered through the air, making it harder to hear around them, and bolts fell from the sky, aiming at him and his friends. He looked up to see Helena, who had pushed past her stunned condition and was aiming her next spell at them. With no time to spare, he spun the barrel of Jimbo, raised it, and shot without aiming.

The crystal in the chamber left his weapon, flying in the distance to Helena as her hand started to spark. It flew past her face, and Mr. Muffins realized he had missed. She looked at him, a look of triumph in her eyes. Her face didn’t have a chance to react more as the crystal struck the tree behind her. It exploded out, a forceful blast shattering bark and wood in every direction as the spell connected with it. It threw her off balance, causing her to cast her spell away from them.

As Mr. Muffins watched, he saw Helena’s face change dramatically. At first, she was hurt, then angry. As she tried to stand, making it to just one knee, she looked up into the sky, and her expression became fearful. Mr. Muffins helped Leaf up, and she reached out her hand to him.

“You don’t understand what’s about to happen… Come with me, and I can teach you more than you would ever know,” She pleaded. “You’ll become the most powerful necromancer of all ages.”

“Why would I do that?” He asked her.

“Join me…”

Leaf took a step forward, moving away from Mr. Muffins’ help. He watched as the gnome took another step, then another, replaceing solid ground. After a few seconds, he looked up at her with pure hatred.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Helena’s hand dropped, landing on her lap as a tear slowly fell down her face.

“I hope the Gods will be more merciful to you than they ever were to me.”

She didn’t even raise her voice to utter an incantation, but Mr. Muffins watched as shadows grew around her once more, and a second later, she was gone.