Again, the Liquid shimmered before Wren's face reappeared. This time he looked paler and considerably more stressed than he had been before.

“Master, the war-chief has lost his mind! After my son's successful act of sabotage in the creature's encampment, it should have been consigned to the waste pits and been forgotten." Wren snarled with frustration.

“Instead, Grolfir has granted it a special right to be entered into the provings! Its first proving was against my son's pack, and Rolk put the human down hard enough that it should never have risen again. I had thought that would be the end of it, but it has some sort of human witch in its service. Magic I am unfamiliar with was used to keep the wretched human alive, and it has recently returned to the provings only to begin winning! My attempts to further sabotage have failed, as it seems the human's encampment is guarded by some unseen force. I dare not send any of my servants, for I feel that I am suspected." Wren was interrupted by a flash of green light, and he screamed out in pain whilst clutching his hands against the sides of his skull. "Master!

Please! There is still time! Another chance has presented itseaaargh!"

The pain continued, along with the screaming, for quite a while. It finally subsided enough to leave Wren gasping over the pool, his face almost touching the liquid within.

“Thank you, master. The human is sending its caravan to the north, into the human lands to trade. We can use this. With your blessing, our forces will intercept the caravan, and I can enchant it with an illusion that will allow it to pass into the camp. Once inside, they will open the gates and release our full might into the Embervine encampment. I will see to it that the defences are weakened. All that must then be accomplished are the deaths of

Grolfir, and the human. Should the latter survive somehow? I shall ensure that he is blamed for the attack. My kin are rightfully quick to distrust humanity."

The reflection dissipated and reappeared one last time. It now recalled the conversation that Talina heard on her venture into the forest on the night she had followed Wren to the pool. The sound of the demonic voice could not be heard, but Wren's came through loud and clear.

It was enough to scuttle any remaining support the fallen shaman had left remaining amongst his people. All of the orcs who had rallied to his side amidst the skirmish now lowered their weapons. At best they looked uncertain, but most of them just Looked downright furious. Wren saw the shift in the mood of the room, and the last of his influence crumbling away beneath him. Still bound by the roots he had summoned, and unable to wrench them from Urgin's control, he sought power from a different source.

“Back up!" Gregory called out, having not taken his eyes from Wren since the beginning of the ritual.

The orcs nearby soon saw the wisdom in the human's order as their former elder shaman fully turned himself over to his demonic master.

The transformation was slow at first, showing Wren's eyes to burn a sulphuric yellow colour before erupting in green flame. His body wretched so powerfully that the vines and roots could not keep him at bay

Valise immediately broke her focus on the ritual, and both Urgin and

Kozash saw what was happening and turned their own power to strengthening Wren's bindings. It was an effort that proved fruitless as the elder's body expanded and began to expel vicious green flames that scorched his own skin. That fire consumed him, and made several orcs scramble backward whilst a couple of Wren's most ardent supporters who had been nearest him were engulfed in the flames. Their screams were drowned out in a rising demonic screech, as two skeletal, bat-Like wings lifted out of the fire. The bony limbs had been blackened, and were clearly incapable of flight. It didn't stop them Lashing out at nearby orcs with the sharp spurs. One was impaled through the shoulder and the others just managed to escape a vicious slash.

The fire then faded to reveal a large, hideous creature with glowing green eyes and a badly burned hide. It had a bat-Like snout with large fangs, and its forearms finished in large slashing claws. The screeching noise sounding from its throat made his ears ring in pain, and it reeked of sulphur. Its legs were covered in scales, and it held itself like a lizard standing upright. A long whip-like tail extended behind it, tipped with a cruel Looking barb that lashed out wildly and cast several drops of acidic liquid hissing onto the stone floor

“Ok, that's definitely overkill," Gregory noted. "Couldn't he have just turned into a big snake? What's wrong with a big snake? It's a classic bad guy move."

The monster that Wren had become interrupted his musings when he charged toward the Dragons.

“On me!" Gregory yelled to his friends as Nullik threw him a 4ft long, curved sword to defend himself with.

The rallying cry had just been meant for his pack, but it seemed to snap every orc assembled in the hall out of their shock. Turning into a giant death-beast might have given Wren some chance to free himself, but it wasn't nearly as much of a chance as he'd hoped for. Since the night of the attack, the orcs no longer felt safe in their Great Hall, and that meant that many of the assembly had arrived armed to the teeth.

Before the monster could close the distance between it and the relatively unarmed human, it found itself being attacked on all sides by several orc packs. This included that of the war-chief himself. It was only then that Gregory saw just how much he still had to Learn. In the midst of witnessing the fight on the night of the ambush, everything had appeared Like a dream in slow motion. He hadn't fully comprehended just how fast orcs could move when they wanted to, or how well orc war-packs worked together in an actual battle. Without calling out orders, each of the packs focused on a single target of their enemy, and seemed to know each other's movements instinctively.