Their spars continued the next morning, and for once, Murdin had carved some free time out of his usual deliveries, inspections, or catering to custom orders. Originally, the mage had wanted to use that time for teaching Sen, but thanks to the wardstone problems, his teaching time would have to be split between introducing new concepts and checking over the additional wardstones, producing new ones, and replacing them.

  Fixing the wardstones that surrounded the town would be a work of weeks, according to Murdin. Even with Sen’s help, it would take a while. Thankfully, Sen had worked faster than Murdin expected. Unfortunately, it was only a small dent in a hill of a problem.

  Murdin spent a couple hours teaching Sen a few additional glyphs, including one that was specialized in combat. He said they’d likely run into at least one or two monsters while inspecting the wardstones, and he needed to be ready. The glyph overloaded the enchanted material to explode, causing damage. This was the same glyph engraved on the stones Sen had used against the tanbinos only days before.

  It was surprisingly simple, once he had a chance to study it and make a few copies himself. It was even simple enough to attempt adding an enchantment to a non-flat surface, and it only took him five attempts before finding some success.

  Unfortunately, Murdin only gave him the time to practice creating a few more before deciding it was time for them to go - hopefully, they wouldn’t need to replace every single wardstone in the vicinity. To know that, they had to check them. All of them.

  It was a cool day, pleasant, and the long walk had left Sen warm enough that he dropped his warmth spell. The idea of sweating in this weather annoyed him. He walked along with a wooden staff, given to him by Murdin. The mage had also given him a blunt stone head that he kept tied to his waist, which, in a pinch, could be added to the staff to make a spear. “Better to be prepared,” the mage had said when he presented the set to Sen, and Sen accepted it graciously.

  Also, he furiously wanted to study the glyphs on each of them. The stone head used a number of glyph pieces that reminded him of the ones used in the wardstone preparations. That made sense, considering the head would be shaved down to a point when activated and combined with the staff. The other parts of the design were new to him. Sen decided to ask Murdin about those parts, but Murdin simply looked at the sections he pointed out, then looked at Sen. “Patience, my apprentice. Do not attempt to walk too far, too fast.”

  Shrugging, Sen continued studying the lines. He couldn’t do much now, but he hoped trying to memorize them would be useful later. He was still kicking himself for never spending the necessary time to properly learn the spells he once had on hand in his previous life.

  The magic he used at that time required either directly copying a spell from a reference, or knowing the runes so intimately that it was impossible to make a mistake when inscribing it. Any deviations or imprecisions in the design could cause a spell to fail. There was no danger in a failed spell, normally - but a bad runic design simply didn’t do anything. Spells like that never caused anything to happen.

  That made it impossible to attempt using trial and error to rebuild his mental spellbook, as well as limited him to only the spells that he already understood well enough.

  It was a depressingly small selection.

  He looked up as they neared a wide clearing in the middle of the forest. A couple large boulders sat in the center of the clearing, and Murdin walked toward one before digging the dirt under it. A moment later, he pulled a dirty, damaged stone cylinder from the ground. If Sen couldn’t already tell from the damage, Murdin’s sour face showed exactly where the wardstone’s condition stood.

  “No good,” he said to Sen, who pulled out a small journal to mark it off. This was the fourth wardstone they’d checked so far, and every single one had been labeled ‘in need of repair.’ Originally, Murdin had hoped that only a small section of the wardstones might be damaged, but more and more it looked like all of them would need replacing.

  Wordlessly, Murdin replaced the cylinder and they set off again, using the sun to guide them south. Murdin seemed to know where all of the wardstones were purely off memory. If Sen had to find them himself - well, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to find any of them.

  The density of the forest began to thin as they continued on, with most trees sitting several strides apart. The canopy above left a thin, dappled shade. Cracks sounded under his feet as Sen stepped on branches or other detritus.

  Murdin, somehow, managed to walk with almost silently. The man seemed to be good at everything. It was inf—

  The mage held a hand up, stopping. He looked around, concern on his face. “The birds are quiet,” he said, eyes roaming around the forest.

  “Is that a problem?” Sen asked. The words came out unbidden, without thinking. Of course that’s a problem, he thought to himself. He wasn’t new to working in a forest. It had just been a while, and he’d been focused on the glyphs. Think before you speak, fool.

  A roar sounded nearby, and Sen found himself turning to see a giant rooster-looking creature, wings touching the ground like arms. It stared directly at them, and immediately Sen moved to find cover behind a tree, grabbing the stone spear-head and pressing it onto the staff. He grabbed a knife and added the final connecting line to the glyph, and the spear melted into a sharp, resilient weapon.

  Sen saw Murdin piecing together his own sword, but the man hadn’t fled for a tree. Rather, he stayed in the open. “Mage Murdin! We should run!” Sen called to his master.

  “No,” he called back in a loud voice, staring toward the monster. “If it’s come this far, it’s only a matter of time before it nears the town. We must stop it now, before it has a chance to harm anyone. It is time to hunt, my apprentice.”

  Sen looked toward the monster. He’d never seen anything like it before, not in this life or his previous. None of his memories offered any insight to the creature, and it stood twice as tall as Murdin at the shoulder.

  “How are we going to kill that?” Sen called back. “It’s huge!”

  “Be lucky that it is only a cockatrill, Tane. Anything else, and we would have to flee, and gather the townspeople for a full-scale hunt. The two of us are enough for this.” Murdin brandished his sword before him, pulling out several small objects from his bag.

  The cockatrill charged, moving with surprising speed. Murdin dove out of the way, avoiding the attack with surprising agility, and even managed to scrape his sword against the monster’s leg as he dodged. He tossed a stone against the overgrown bird, which shattered into an explosion of stone.

  It squawked in outrage, turning for Murdin. Sen stepped out from behind the tree, throwing one of the exploding stones he made earlier. It struck true, atop the creature’s head, dazing it from the explosive impact. “Good work!” Murdin called out, rushing forward.

  His sword pierced the creature’s side, but it only seemed to make it angrier. One of its wings swept to the side, and Sen held his breath, certain that Murdin would be hit. The man dodged again, ripping the sword free from the monster and moving a short distance from the creature to observe.

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  Sen ran forward, brandishing his spear and thrusting it toward the flesh beneath the giant bird’s tail feathers. His thrust struck true, and another cry sounded from the creature. From where he stood, Sen couldn’t see all of Murdin, but he saw enough to know the man threw another stone. The bird’s cry cut short as an explosion rocked its head once more, this time from inside its beak.

  The entire creature shuddered, yelping at the pain, before falling to the ground. It wasn’t dead yet, just stunned, and Murdin ran forward, ready to continue the attack. Sen hadn’t been ready, and his spear stuck in the creature as it fell. The monster scrambled for purchase against the ground, and Sen couldn’t retrieve the spear from where it stuck without risking a stray swipe from the cockatrill’s feet.

  Instead, he dropped away from it, letting Murdin deal any up close damage, and threw the remaining stones he had. He threw another at the head, but it was a glancing blow that landed in the dirt. The head was moving too much.

  A second throw landed against the monster’s backside, and left a raw section of flesh where the thick feathers had been destroyed. “How do we kill it?” Sen called to Murdin.

  “Try to bleed it to death,” Murdin called back. “Don’t let it hit you, and we’ll strike a definitive blow if we can find one!”

  A moment of surreality came over Sen as he looked at the old mage carving a large slice through the bird as it struggled to stand, starting from the raw section Sen had revealed. He had never expected to see a giant chicken today, much less fight it.

  And, seemingly, win.

  Sen mentally shook his head, focusing on the moment. Something that large could easily kill Murdin on accident, so he couldn’t let himself get distracted. “I’m out of stones,” he called.

  Murdin grunted, then ripped his sword from the creature’s back. He rushed to its back end, then pulled the spear free with a gush of blood. The creature was beginning to drip its life onto the forest floor, and it finally stood again as Murdin threw the spear toward Sen - sideways, to ensure it didn’t accidentally pierce him.

  Sen caught the spear in hand, then turned and ran as the monster faced toward Murdin. Sen didn’t want to be anywhere in front of the creature when it rushed forward.

  Predictably, the creature ran ahead, large feet thumping against the ground. Murdin stood his ground until Sen thought he’d be crushed, then jumped out of the way once more. The monster roared in frustration. Really, it was more of a squawk.

  It turned toward Murdin once more, repeating its charge. The stupid creature repeated the same futile loop several times over before Sen finally felt confident to approach as it turned and stab into it once more. His spear drove deep into the things side, but he managed to pull it out before the cockatrill could turn and peck at him.

  Murdin came and slashed its wing while it was occupied with Sen. Another cry, and the monster turned once more. Ultimately, that became the turning point, and the creature never managed to find its bearing in the fight again. With each strike, it slowed, cries of rage sounding at each attack. Sen and Murdin managed to trade distraction duty, wearing the cockatrill down over time.

  Eventually, the bird looked between them, then decided to run. Blood trailed on the forest floor behind it. Murdin sighed. “We have to go after it. We can’t let it get away.”

  “Will it really be a threat to the town with all those injuries?” Sen asked.

  Murdin nodded, an annoyed look on his face as he stared after the monster. “Especially the ones that have been injured like that. They end up stronger, angrier, and more careful when attacking.” He started off in a jog, and Sen followed along after a moment of hesitation.

  For a moment, he felt like he’d returned to his old life - spending all his time studying, with short breaks to fend off monsters. A pang of sadness struck Sen.

  He missed his sister. The two of them had worked together on almost every hunting mission. Murdin was a more than adequate substitute, in terms of raw ability. Despite that, Sen wasn’t sure Anelica could ever be replaced.

  They followed the monster for a short while, perhaps a quarter of an hour. The trail of blood it left behind made its path abundantly clear, and they had no trouble following behind it, even without rushing. “Be careful when we catch up to it,” Murdin warned him. “A cornered monster is the most dangerous a creature can be.”

  Sen nodded, and shortly after they arrived at a large tree that filled the sky above them. It was huge, with a trunk that measured so large it looked more like a wall than a tree. The blood trail led to a hollow in the ground under its roots. Murdin drew another stone, then threw it into the darkness.

  Another squawk, panicked and enraged, sounded out from under the tree. Sen had a slight moment of sadness and regret at the pained sound. Yet, he also knew the devastating results when monsters were left free to wreak havoc. The sights were grisly, and the lives lost were incomparable to the pain of a creature like this.

  Murdin held up a hand to hold Sen back, in case he tried to step toward the hollow. Sen hadn’t intended to, but Murdin expected him to be a complete rookie. The cockatrill crept out, dirt sticking where the creature’s blood wept. It made a grisly scene, and another large wound had opened on its wing where a large piece simply no longer existed, presumably destroyed by Murdin’s latest attack.

  The cockatrill was on its last legs. It swept forward, as fast as it could - and that speed turned out unimpressive. Sen and Murdin both moved out of its path easily. Murdin moved as late as he could, distracting the creature, while Sen moved early. He didn’t trust himself to avoid the monster as well as Murdin.

  Sen circled around, waiting for a chance to strike as Murdin dodged a peck from the creature’s large beak, digging into the ground. A stroke of his sword bit into the bird’s neck, and he deftly avoided the frantic swipe of a large wing. That, too, got a slice, but the feathers managed to weaken the strike into a glancing blow.

  Sen struck at the creature, using several quick thrusts in an attempt to distract it. The idea worked, and the monster forgot Murdin in short order, only to be painfully reminded of the mage just after turning toward Sen.

  The thing was huge, but not many creatures were stupider. Its last death throes lasted for a while longer, until Murdin boldly jumped on top of the creature, then stuck his sword into its neck. The creature cried out and tried to shake him off, but to no avail. The sword dug in, deeper and deeper, Murdin almost sawing at the neck. The cockatrill fell to the ground, limp, its final cry little more than a desperate gasp.

  Sen’s fatigue came upon him all at once, and he lowered himself to the ground using his spear to keep him steady. He spread on the ground, enjoying the cool earth against his body. The sounds of Murdin continuing to saw against the neck sounded out, until a large thump signified the head separating from the beast’s body. Sen sat up to watch Murdin, curious.

  Glancing to him, Murdin spoke. “Creature’s like these usually have gemstones at their core. They make great materials for spells, if you have the ability to enchant them,” he explained as he stuck a hand into the monster’s bloody corpse. He fished around for a moment, then pulled out a gore covered stone, the size of a fist. It didn’t seem like much, but Sen didn’t care much.

  Combat. Survival. A giant monster. A feeling of exhilaration swept over him. He noticed Murdin eyeing him before the man spoke. “You did well, considering how unprepared we were for that. I apologize,” he said. “I did not expect something like this to be so close to the town. Normally…” He trailed off in thought.

  “I’ve never heard of anything like this before. Are monsters like this common?”

  Murdin shook his head. “No. Well, yes, but not near any established town, or even most villages. Wardstones ring almost every settlement, including farms. They deter most monsters, especially the larger ones like this cockatrill. Most large monsters exist deeper in the wilderness, far from civilization. It is… concerning that this one was so close.”

  “Is this something to be worried about?”

  “We will need to be prepared if any more monsters come. If we are lucky, nothing else will come. If we are not, then you will need to be ready. I cannot deal with anything much worse than this,” he gestured at the giant bird, “on my own.”

  “Worse? Like what?”

  Breathing deeply, Murdin spoke. “I don’t know. I can make guesses, but my guess would have been that nothing like this would be nearby. There is a library in town,” he said. “I suggest you find one of the bestiaries kept there. It would be much more likely to sate your questions than I am.”

  That didn’t make him feel much better, but it was better than nothing. He’d already read through the magic books multiple times, as well, and needed something new to put his time into. That would work, for now.

  “What next?” Sen asked. There was still plenty of day left.

  “Back to work,” Murdin said with a sigh. “Come on. We have several wardstones to check, still. And then,” he sighed, “we need to speak with the mayor.”