124 Gavin II

It's grip was forced open. With a roar, Gavin burst free of the monster's hand, surrounded by a brilliant swirl of red energy. Fragments of wood fell away from the Root Fiend's crumbling hand and it swung its other one at him.

For a monster as big as that is, it doesn't have a ton of variation. I was thinking this might be a Great Monster, but Sunder didn't react to it and it seems a bit… dim. Can normal monsters really get this big?

Gavin whipped his hammer down. It was an amusing sight if the circumstances were ignored. A man more than several hundred times smaller than his opponent was trying to stop its hand by swinging the equivalent of a toothpick at it.

His hammer connected with the Root Fiend's wrist. A ring of red magic washed out and the monster's hand shattered, smashed to pieces. Gavin flew into the air as the Root Fiend screamed in pain.

Its hands started to reform, but not in time to stop Gavin from arriving above its head and raising his hammer. It formed back into a javelin and, matching the monster's cry with one of his own, he launched it downward.

A red streak of lightning flashed through the air and struck the Root Fiend in the top of the head. There was a brilliant crack as it carved through the entirety of the monster's body and slammed into the ground beneath it.

The Root Fiend's cry went silent. It swayed in place for an instant. The light in its eyes went out, and the roots that were working to heal its wounds withered and dried. And, there it remained, casting a shadow over the landscape.

Gavin's hammer flew back into his hand, back in shape once more, and he floated down to a hill beside him. His armor was still humming as he approached them, lifting the helmet from his face to reveal the visage of a man far younger than Noah had expected. He couldn't have been older than thirty.

"Apologies, folks," Gavin said, pulling a gauntlet off and wiping the sweat from his brow. "I wasn't expecting such a resilient Root Fiend. They're usually a lot easier to take down. Nobody got caught up in the fight, right?"

"We're all fine," Brayden said.

"You're incredible," Todd breathed, his eyes wide with wonder.

Gavin let out a booming laugh. "Thanks, son. Mighty kind of you. I'm just doing my job."

"And poorly at that, you lout."

They all turned as a red portal split the air open and a young woman strode out from within it. She wore light metal armor, clearly chosen to be functional but not nearly as unwieldy as what Gavin wore.

Gavin cleared his throat. "Sorry, Jess. I didn't mean to use so much energy."

"Stop showing off so much next time," Jess said, shaking her head in mock anger. "Don't be too impressed with Gavin's magic, because half of it isn't his. It's mine."

Gavin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "This is Jess, my partner. She does all the Imbuements on my weapons."

"Might as well call me your battery at this point. You nearly drained all the magic out of my runes. You barely even used any of your own power."

"My magic isn't really suited for this kind of encounter," Gavin said. "Besides, this is hardly the place. I'll cover your dinner or something."

Jess grinned, and Noah got the feeling she'd gotten exactly what she'd wanted from the start.

"Great. I'll be choosing the place."

"Yeah, yeah." Gavin grimaced and turned to the group. "Again, I'm sorry for interrupting all of your travels. We'll have this Root Fiend cleaned up and out of the way shortly. You're free to continue on as you will."

"How many Imbued weapons do you have?" Todd asked eagerly, completely ignoring Gavin's polite suggestion to get moving.

Noah didn't say anything, as he'd been wondering the exact same thing.

"I've Imbued every piece of his armor and have more Imbuements than I can count on that weapon of his," Jess said, a note of pride in her voice. "All optimized to draw as much energy out of the environment and as little out of me – not that Gavin ever manages to keep from draining my Runes. You have any interest in becoming an Imbuer?"

"I'm going to be a soldier," Todd said firmly. "But I know Imbuers work very closely with soldiers."

Jess smirked. "I wanted to be a soldier too, but I've found it much more relaxing to have someone else do all the fighting while I get to do the fun stuff with Rune research. Gavin might get to have the fancy stuff, but–"

"I couldn't do any of it without Jess," Gavin finished. "Not the really fancy stuff, at least. That's too intricate to do on the spot. I remember pretty much standing in the exact same spot you are right now, son. Keep your studies up. Being a soldier isn't easy, but it's rewarding."

"And dangerous," Edward said under his breath. "I'll stick to just doing stuff the normal way."

If Gavin overheard him, he didn't care.

"We've got more ground to cover today, so we'll have to be on our way," Gavin said. "Best wishes to all of you. Take care on the road. Come on, Jess. Let's–"

A rumble shook the ground beneath their feet. Before Noah could even finish processing it, a second vibration followed up the first one immediately afterword. Two hills near them let out a series of pops and rips as they tore free of the ground, unfurling into large Root Fiends, both slightly shorter than the one Gavin had just killed but nowhere near any less intimidating.

"Oh, shit," Gavin breathed. "Jess, get them out. They must have woken up from the fight."

"I can't," Jess replied through gritted teeth. "I'm nearly out of energy. A long range portal like that is beyond me right now. I just wasted a bunch portaling over here to save time."

The Root Fiends roared in unison, their burning eyes turning to land straight on the group. Noah reached down to his pipe and packed some Flashgrass into it. Beside him, both Moxie and Brayden gathered their magic. A chill prickled into Noah's back, marking Allen's powers as he readied them as well.

"What Rank are you lot?" Gavin asked.

"We have two Rank 4s, a 3, and a 2. The students aren't prepared for this," Moxie said. "We'll distract one of them if you can get the other."

"Understood. Just focus on holding it off," Gavin said, slamming his helm back over his head and readying his weapon. "We'll handle ours and get to you immediately afterward."

Smoke poured out of Noah's pipe as he ignited the Flashgrass.

"Stay back," Noah warned the students as he and the other professors eyed the approaching Root Fiend. "Whatever you do, don't engage it. Even if we're having trouble. Understood?"

"But what about–" Isabel started.

"No," Noah said flatly. "No matter what, you stay out. If you get a chance, run. Just don't draw the monster's attention to yourselves."

He didn't get time to wring a confirmation from them. The nearest Root Fiend let out a thundering screech and took a step toward them, its mouth parting in a woody grimace. Noah summoned his magic and combusted the smoke coming from his pipe.

Then he and the other professors charged.