A Summoner's Story of Love and War

For the Road Ahead - Chapter 4

"Of course, Lord Fletcher. So far, we know that they like to use bows made of some sort of hard material – but not wood. They have a fondness for poison tipped arrows, so be careful. We know that if it's an open wound, the poison can be cured with the healing spell. but other than that, it can't heal it. My researchers are looking for a cure right as we speak, so I hope we can give you that knowledge before you go. I've heard that they're making good progress so far. Very few that we've seen of actually have demons, unlike us and orc shamans. We've seen the usual; canids, felids, and common demons; but we've also seen ones with demons like onis and nanues. We don't think they have wyverns or dragons yet, and hopefully they don't - and we're still not sure of the extent of their demon variety. They have the same armour as our corpse there, but he doesn't summon. The soldiers have noticed that the summoners usually have dull, purple stripes on their armour, so you'll be able to distinguish them from the normal troll soldiers. We are also calling the summoning trolls shamans, just to keep things simple. We have heard that some do speak our language, but the most they do is grunt at each other and their demons. That's all I'm able to give." He finished with a playful bow at his small audience. Fletcher smiled at the King's cheerful spirit.

"Make yourself comfortable. My servants will bring you pillows and blankets. You shall wait for Sylva and captain Lovett to return, then head out at dawn." And with that, the King walked out of the room. Fletcher summoned Ignatius and Athena and lay down on the carpeted floor. Leaning against his drake, and his gryphowl curled into his lap, fletcher drifted off to sleep.

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Fletcher woke up to someone shaking his shoulder, strong but gentle. He opened his eyes, drowsily looking up. Othello was standing next to him, hand leaving Fletcher's shoulder as the boy stood up. He forgot that Athena was still on his lap, and the gryphowl's screech as it was suddenly thrown off its master was deafening in Fletcher's ears. He walked over to the cat-owl demon and apologised best he could, both mentally saying it out loud. She glared at him for a moment, then her anger dissipated, and she licked his pentacle-covered hand, infusing her in the process. From inside his mind, Fletcher could feel no anger or displeasure from her. He looked around the room. He saw Captain Lovett talking with Arcturus and King Harold, most presumably about their journey. Sunlight that rose over the Beartooth Peaks in the north streamed in past the glass windows, mixing with the soft glow of lanterns and torches. Othello had gone over to his golem. Continuing looking around, Fletcher met eyes with Sylva across the room. His heart quickened as she looked shocked and broke his gaze, walking over to Lovett without looking at him again. Fletcher's guilt punched him in the stomach again, making him feel sick from that recent night. He tried to push it down as he went over to Arcturus, who had left the King and his wife to go comfort his demons. Arcturus smiled at him as he joined him, Ignatius now bounding around Sacharissa. The canid happily joined in, jumping over and under the drake.

"How are you doing, Fletcher? Nearly ready to go, I hope. Not long now." The older man said, looking out of the window to the vast distance beyond. Fletcher nodded, having packed whatever he needed in his bag on the floor where he was lying.

"Good. You should probably eat, because we won't be stopping on the way." Fletcher's stomach gave a hungry growl as Arcturus laughed, and Fletcher turned red. He then went to the corner of the room, where bowls of still-warm eggs, bacon and sausages adorned the table. Fletcher picked up a plate and went to work.

The early morning sun lit up the dim sky, landing on Fletcher's left side. They were heading to the small town to the east called Antioch, where they were being joined by their guide. The small town, village almost, came into view, the simple houses warmed by the sun. They landed in the public square, void of people because of the early hours. Fletcher hopped off and gave a quick pat to Ignatius before striding over to the water feature in the middle of the yard. A man was leaned against it, a duck-like demon waddling through his legs. He smiled at Fletcher and his friends, and his mysterious demon honked at the group.

"Hello, friends! You must be the group of summoners I'm meant to take to this new land, right?" He was cheerful, his crisp blond hair waving gently in the light wind. He had light blue eyes and a spot on his neck.

"Right then, let's get going! Now, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ride with somebody on their demon; I only have Cendisti. Before I forget to introduce myself, my name is Fiunt Riherdo." Fletcher smiled at the man's antics. He was a bit loud, but Fletcher didn't mind that. He signalled Fiunt to hop on the back of Ignatius with him. Sylva had ridden with Captain Lovett, and seemed to have no intention of coming back to him. Fletcher was curious about his demon, and went to ask him. The creature was basically a goose or duck, the size of a large dog. The difference it had from a goose was its long, canine fangs that stuck from its shiny, silver beak, and random spikes dotted on its body. It had big, green eyes and silver feet. Traces of grey ran down its golden body, and when it flapped its wings at the other demons as a welcome, the tips and inside of the feathers were of the purest white.

"What kind of demon is it?" Fletcher asked curiously, as Fiunt hopped onto the back of Ignatius.

"My Cendisti here is a rare species of demon, called a jansonius. He has a very impressive power. Watch." he stated proudly, and turned to face his goose demon. Cendisti took a deep breath, leaned back, and spurted white frost from its silvery beak. The group watched in amazement as the flowing water feature was now frozen still, ice spikes souring. Cendisti honked proudly and made his way to his master, who gave him a loving embrace and infused him. Ignatius blasted a fire ball at the still fountain, and as soon as the heat came into contact, it melted, creating tons of grey steam that hung in the air before dissipating. Then, the group of summoners headed east.

As Fiunt was giving directions, he liked to talk, and ask questions. No one in the group pushed the bombardment away, and answered best they could. He would ask a bit about them, their demons, what place were they from, and so on. Fletcher asked some questions of his own. Apparently Fiunt was from Antioch, and grew up there. He was from a small noble family, and looked a bit younger than Arcturus. He first summoned a vulpid, but the poor creature died in battle. He sometimes would fight on the southeast side of the orc forest, but had stopped due to the lack of orcs to fight. They really just lost all faith in fighting after Khan died. When the king had asked him if he could do the job, he jumped at the chance.

They flew over bodies of water, flat clearings, thick forests and desolate, sandy deserts. They continued for hours, only stopping at lakes or rivers to rest the demons and get a drink. It was hard going, and the sun beating down on them. Fletcher regretted not taking a lighter change of clothes, but Fiunt said that he would be thankful later, whatever that meant. On and on, soon they were faced with a hard downpour. Now not so hating about his clothing, Fletcher grimly pressed the tired Ignatius on. He would be sure to give his demon treats and a well-deserved break when they got to their location. They exited out of the storm after an hour or two, and in front of them, a sprawling land of snow topped mountains, dense forests and grassy plains lay in front of them.

From behind Fletcher, Fiunt piped up, gazed at the land and said,

"Welcome to Liborum, everyone."