Three turtles came into view. Another could be heard from the far right, and more from the far left. Even to the south, Weylan spotted movement, although far less distinct and nearly out of sight between the dense forest trees. A faint flicker of blue light appeared, but then the woods fell still. As the main front of giant turtles reached the edge of the clearing, he focused on the immediate threat, though he kept glancing south whenever he could.

Silvea raised her voice. "Movement on all sides. We can't fight well in the woods. There's no way to retreat. We make our stand here! Now… loose!"

Bolts snapped through the air, and spellfire crackled as the students launched their attacks from behind makeshift cover. Arrows ricocheted off thick shells with dull thuds. Only a few found softer targets like legs, throats, and open mouths. The beasts barely flinched.

One turtle surged ahead of the others, barreling into the vine wall Silvea had conjured. The enchanted greenery wrapped around its feet, but the creature kept pushing forward. The vines strained, then tore free at the roots. It slowed just long enough for an additional volley of spells and bolts, all mostly ineffective.

Erik ducked and rolled, narrowly dodging a snapping maw. "This is insane!" he shouted, hurling another Ice Spear. It struck the turtle's side, and frost bloomed across its neck. The beast hissed, enraged, but didn't falter in its attack.

"Keep at it!" Silvea barked. She raised both hands, twisting the air into a barrage of wooden darts that peppered the lead turtle's eyes. One pierced deep, and the creature shrieked, staggering back.

"Nice!" Alina shouted from behind a thick tree. She gritted her teeth and dropped her staff, muttering a prayer to Lieselotte. As a turtle circled around the tree, she sprinted around the opposite direction to get at it from behind. She pressed her hand at its left hindleg. "Stunning Grasp!"

The viper turtle's leg spasmed and turned rigid. It stumbled and came to a halt. Its head whipped around on a surprisingly long neck, but could not reach her. Alina grabbed a hatchet she'd used to split firewood and started hacking at the undefended legs. She landed three solid hits before the spell wore off and the turtle began to turn. She retreated.

Weylan stayed low, crossbow steady. He waited. Watched. Then... movement. A turtle reared slightly, trying to scale a low rock, exposing the softer skin beneath its neck. He fired.

Thunk.

The bolt struck true. The beast shrieked and withdrew but did not fall.

"Not enough," he muttered, already reloading.

Darken fired a small hand-crossbow in rapid succession, the tiny bolts carried a varied payload of poisons, but the viper turtle he hit gave no indication it cared for the tiny sticks in its legs.

Nearby, Aldrich stood calmly, shortbow in hand, sword sheathed. His arrows flew with clinical precision. "Left flank! One of them tries to circle us!"

Kane growled. He grabbed a heavy throwing axe and hurled it in one smooth motion. The axe spun through the air and slammed into a turtle's front leg, sinking halfway in. Thick, dark blood oozed out. The turtle staggered, but kept moving.

"We're slowing them!" Alina called out, dodging a swiping tail.

"Not enough!" Darken growled, tossing aside a shattered vial and pulling a fresh one from his coat. "This one's experimental."

"Don't blow us up!" Weylan called.

"No promises," Darken muttered, then threw the potion. It burst midair in a violet cloud. The gas clung to one of the turtles... and the creature began to sway.

"It's drowsy!" Mirabelle gasped.

Darken grinned. "Hangover potion. Made from inverted hangover cures."

"Don't let it recover!" Silvea shouted.

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Everyone focused their attacks on the beast. Arrows, bolts, and flame blasts struck in concert. Weylan fired again, this time into the creature's eye. The beast finally collapsed with a heavy thud.

"One down!" Ulmenglanz called, leaping onto a boulder. She slammed her quarterstaff onto another turtle's head of another turtle that had reached their line. It wasn't impressed. The long neck extended in a flash and long teeth burrowed into the dryad's arm. Then the beast yanked her closer.

Kane vaulted off a rock, swinging his newly bought warhammer with both hands. Driven by his weight and full strength, it hit the turtle's skull with a sickening crunch. The monster reeled and screeched. Kane silenced it with a sideways swing that dislodged its jaw.

Erik followed up with a freezing spell to its neck while it was distracted. The creature shuddered.

Kane struck repeatedly until another turtle, lightning-quick, extended and retracted its neck, snatching his warhammer right out of his grasp. Kane looked at his empty hands, growled, and began pummeling the turtles with his bare fists. Erik cast another spell, again with little effect. Fighting against two of the monsters, Kane was getting into a dangerous situation.

Weylan leapt across stones, positioning the sun at his back. He cast Shadow Gate on the stone's shadow, linked to the one on the stone in front of him, connected to the shadow his body cast on side of a turtle's neck. He stabbed his Assassin's Knife through the gate, shifted it slightly, and stabbed again. His mana dropped dangerously low, but the cuts sliced deep. Blood spurted as the turtle staggered, then collapsed onto its shell, its life-blood slowly leaking out.

Ulmenglanz stumbled behind the lines to heal herself, bleeding heavily from her arm. Angry black veins crept around the wound… venom. She was in no condition to fight.

Kane and Erik concentrated their attacks on the other turtle and managed to bring it down.

Meanwhile, Weylan extended his sword-staff, held it with both hands, point downward, and jumped down on another turtle. The blade pierced deep into its neck, severing the spine. It crumpled.

When he turned around to look for the next enemy, he saw Alina in a precarious situation. Pushed over and pinned beneath a turtle, she lay on her back barely stopping the creature from biting her face. Venom and saliva dripped down on her. Her arms already trembled from exertion.

Weylan pulled his blade free and sprinted… but he knew he wouldn't make it in time.

Faya charged in from the opposite direction, screaming on the top of her lungs. "Thou hast disturbed the peace of home and hearth! Suffer the displeasure of Lieselotte's Frown!"

Mirabelle ran after her. "That won't work! The hearth-fire wasn't burning and we hadn't even set a camp."

Faya ignored her, her voice getting not louder, but more menacing, as if she managed to convince herself of her righteousness. "Thou hast disturbed the peace of home and hearth! Suffer!"

A wave of raw magic pulsed out. Even Weylan felt some of the damnation in it.

The giant turtle reared back from her victim and shook its head in confusion. The spell held only a moment, but that was enough. A shadow flickered beside Alina. A pointy-eared student in black grabbed her under the arms and vanished with her in a blur of stealth magic. The turtle stared dumbly at the empty space.

Weylan turned, spotting two more turtles pushing forward. One lunged and sank its teeth into a student's shoulder. The boy screamed.

"Shield him!" Silvea roared. A stone spike erupted beneath the turtle, forcing it back just long enough for the priestesses to pull the boy to safety.

"Heal!" Faya shouted, now sounding a bit hoarse from screaming, hugged him in a fierce embrace, and the boy's torn flesh began to stitch itself shut.

The remaining turtles slowed. Burning, bleeding, and staggering. One dropped with arrows in its eyes. The others turned and limped back into the forest.

Then... silence.

No more stomping. No more screeching. Just panting breaths, sizzling potions, and the stench of blood and burned greenery.

Silvea turned slowly in place, eyes scanning the clearing. "Check the wounded. We're not moving until we patch everyone up. Then we'll put some distance between us and all this blood. Before the smell attracts more monsters."

Weylan knelt beside a corpse, retrieved his bolt, and stood slowly. "What provoked them?"

Ulmenglanz crouched by another corpse. Her finger came up slightly colored red as the rubbed the painted portions of the shell. "Those glyphs… they are fresh. Someone sent them."

Silvea nodded grimly. "Someone who doesn't want us reaching our goal."

The group gathered. Bruised, scorched, and rattled, but alive. They had survived.

Mirabelle finally lit the fire she'd prepared earlier, not for warmth, but for the protection she could provide with a hearthfire. The priestesses chanted their warding ritual, then all four healers went to work on healing wounds and purging poison.

Weylan used his spell focus to mend clothes and clean wounds until his mana was drained. Then he passed it on and slipped away to scout the southern forest.

He found half a dozen smaller turtles lying in the underbrush. Cut, frozen, and very dead. A tired raven hopped onto a low branch.

"They were waiting for a signal," Selvara said. "When the big one screeched, they started moving. I used Frost Breath until my mana gave out. It was just enough. Two ran."

"Did anyone see you?"

"I don't think so. You lot were quite busy too."

Weylan exhaled. This wasn't over. Not even close.

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