Sorcerer from Another World

But then one of the ogres twitched and started to rise. I looked around and the dead Redcaps rose as well like puppets dangling from invisible strings. Dead but animated. Zombies. The thought ground my thinking to a halt. Zombies? That was unexpected. 

“It’s not over yet, Champion. No, Iris was right. Paragon.” Morgana called out in clear, cultured tones.

Her words snapped me back to the present. If this was a fantasy world that meant there was most likely a necromancer in play. I had seen something like that in that popular 2011 game of the year.

The orge was already on us and had their club raised high. The ogre swung their club like a baseball batter, and I quickly threw out a magic shield.

I flew backwards from the force of the blow. My vision turned black as I tumbled through the air and smashed back to the earth. Even though the blow was softened by the shield I wheezed as I tried to stand up. Fly swatted not once, but twice now. 

Morgana jumped and smashed her elbow down on the orge’s skull. She took a few steps back and then ran up and booted it backwards. The unthinking undead tripped over dead and live Redcaps. Dust and blood rose as the falling orge squished them with its bulk and club. 

I picked myself up and I threw down lightning as one of the zombie Redcaps tried to lunge at my neck. Its head blasted apart. The body crawled along the earth unaffected by the lack of a brain. I threw out another magic shield barricade. The headless undead started to climb over the newly casted barrier. 

A blaze of fire consumed the headless undead Redcap. I looked to see Iris, hunched over and with sweat beading down her face. Flickers of flame vanished from the palm of her hand. She thrusted her staff forward knocking back another zombie. Morgana swung her sword to smash the undead horde back in a furious combination of blows. 

The ogre also picked itself up. It slammed down a massive fist that Morgana shuffled away from, and swiftly after it swung its club.

Morgana met it with her own blade that bent on impact. The steel held for now as Morgana reeled from the impact. We clambered back as Iris threw a stream of fire into the ogre’s face. 

It caught fire and lurched back.

“What do we do?” Iris asked in a shrill voice. She was sweating heavily, panting and shockingly pale. 

“Survive,” I whispered grimly.

“Kill the puppetmaster and we kill the dead.” Umbra answered prudently. 

Alit with flame but unfeeling the ogre leaned forward and moved to attack. The ogre’s fists came down but stopped mid air held back by some form of invisible force. Two hands raised Morgana grimaced but seemed to be using some form of telekinesis to hold the ogre back. 

The Redcaps parted around the ogre like water parts around rocks in a river. I clapped my hands together and produced lightning in my hands. Then with a pushing gesture, I directed the shockwave towards the horde. 

They tumbled over knocked onto their backs. I clasped my ears as the sound cut out.

Not yet done, I animated their spears, swords and arrows and turned them against the zombie Redcaps and distracted the foul undead. The tide of the dead was slowed as their weapons came back to hack and bash them. The spell was of great intricacy. I leaned heavily on my understanding of mana to make puppeteering possible. 

Only a few carried metal but, all at once, I made rusted axes dance and they carved off limbs like I was chopping onions. I stuck two blunt swords through through feet, pinning the undead Redcaps from moving forward. I made a live Redcap hit itself over and over with their own metal club until they fainted. I strangled another using their decorative jewellery. 

I felt my pool of mana drop greatly also my exhaustion made me want to drop down and sleep.

Morgana’s hold over the ogre ended and she locked weapons with it again. She pushed up with both arms as the ogre pushed down with all its terrible might. I leapt to help her, but the ogre changed targets and swung its fist as swift as a fox striking with the force of a speeding car. 

My ribs cracked and shredded my innards.

Moments before death I started repairing them and my internal organs, but the ogre swung for a second strike. Lightning sprang from my body tasering the ogre as it stopped in its tracks it twisted from the shocks. I landed with a thump and a spray of blood.   

My animated spell dropped as I lost concentration. 

The ogre immobile, shook and shivered from the shock. Morgana charged to help Iris who desperately pushed back the undead. She was struggling to live let alone help anyone else.  

“There is someone hiding over to the left!” Iris called out as a Robin landed on her arm.

I hurled down lightning only to have it deflected and for dirt to blast into the air. However, I had now spotted the necromancer. A Redcap but taller than the others and wearing a ram’s mask with a fur cloak. I see their magic, like strings holding up a puppet. 

Umbra spat a breath of what I could only call as pestilence. The Necromancer blocked the breath with a complex counterspell. He was distracted. 

“Die.” I spat and yanked from the heavens an arc of lightning that left a crater in its wake and turned the Redcap mage to a pile of ash.

“Brutal!” One of the women behind me called out.

I scowled and growled, “Who’s next.” 

Apparently, that was the enemy all done. I turned around to find a pair of exhausted young women regarding me. 

“Yeah! Brilliant!” Iris roared, her voice amplified along with her huge height. She shrunk as she spoke so her final ‘t’ came out in her normal tones.