Daily Dream 08-16-2016 When It Rains

A shield of whirling wind surrounded me, protecting me from the driving rain as I walked along the path towards the walls guarding the city. Few other people were out in this miserable weather. While I loved the rain, I wouldn’t have been out in this weather either, given the choice. Sadly, I didn’t have that option.

The call had gone out that they needed a cleaner and the request was sent to me. Given my particular skills, it made sense. Not to mention the pay was good. It was just annoying that it had to be in such weather that I would normally greatly enjoy watching from my porch with a cup of hot chocolate in one hand and a good book in the other.

Sighing in resignation, I made continued the rest of the way to the wall, nodding to the guards at the gate who nodded back in reply. Slowly, the gates creaked open, revealing the burn zone that had been put in place around the city. Over one hundred yards completely clear of every plant and anything higher than an inch above the ground, offering complete line of sight to anything that might be approaching the city.

Several arcane constructs patrolled the deadzone around the city. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the badge that identified me to the constructs and security it to my jacket. Wouldn’t do to have to blow away one of the sentries. Again.

Eventually I made my way to the main road and followed the path to where the briefing had described the last sighting. The imps were getting far too numerous of late and had been harassing caravans travelling to and from the city. The guards for the caravans were keeping them safe for the moment, but the imps really needed to be dealt with at the source.

Glancing around, I reached out with my senses to find the direction the imps had come from. The path led deeper into the forest. I could feel several of the denizens watching me, but they knew better than to attack. These imps on the other hand… one just burst from cover.. before bursting into flame and scattering to ashes.

I lowered my hand, wisps of flames curling away from between my fingers. One imp was never a threat. The problem was there were never just one. They nested and bred like rabbits once they settled into an area.

As I neared the nest, several more imps popped up, trying to steer me away or kill me. Didn’t really matter one way or another. They all ended up in pieces or ashes, depending on my mood.

Finally, I found the nest. There had to be over a hundred imps scampering around the dark cave entrance, meaning more were hidden away out of sight. A small grin made its way to my lips.

Time to earn my paycheck.