It is generally best to attack a mage while they are distracted. Since Taramo fell from above the three hooded figures, one of whom was burning, would have a chance to notice him and counterattack, except that the danger that they were dealing with was quite difficult to ignore.

  The burning one was destroyed before he'd even landed, being struck while trying to escape. The two remaining ones were facing each other out of the range of the destruction from intentional design failure and as the spell destruction finished Taramo landed between them and their ruined army. A hasty shield put up by the cloaked people showed a skeletal hand and part of an eye socket of the other. Both dead. The third one wouldn't have been the mage either since few necromancers led from the front and when they did they were exceptionally dangerous.

  Taramo sent a handful of flame to counteract one of the skeleton's curses. Something that embodied itself like a swarm of bees and would burn through mana reserves or poison the target. When the second one dispelled his fire he had to jump back and send another fire. Closer to himself and more at risk. Coordination? If they had the ability to strategize they would be retreating or would have kept some of the army back, but to little difference.

  The swarm was more difficult to work against so when the next wave was sent, completely unchanged, a dozen of the motes escaped past the fire. A few flickering embers dealt with all but one, which Taramo grabbed as he threw himself up and out of the way. He had some moments to look at the structure of the almost-creature so sent a counterattack against the horde that was sent directly up.

  Almost identical and unable to be recognized by the spell as an enemy they latched on and ate the mana from each bug, growing with power exponentially. Another wave of bugs from the same dead mage suggests strategy is not universal. The second of the three was eaten by their own spell adapted and turned against itself.

  The third dead mage had disappeared. The spell was growing hungry, but since it didn't think he burned most of it and sent the rest into the woods. They hungered for mana and in one direction they were dispelled. Taramo walked that way, keeping a ward ready to blast any of the wolves if they popped up.

  A small clearing had the mage waiting. There were wards along the edge of the woods. His probes burned at their approach. Dispelling ones. This undead seemed to have a theme. The skeleton stool blankly and let him prod at the wards. The dispelling magic would deal with any of his prepared spell work. If he had a wand or other magic items they would normally survive dispelling with a little maintenance needed later on. He'd really have to get back into the swing of things once he got to Austalir's workshop in Newport. The man would enjoy helping him too. Taramo wasn't inactive when in Tarnox but remembering and transcribing spells was a longer term solution to violence and infrastructure didn't work outside the city.

  The mage refused to act even with Taramo showing inactivity. Probably since there was a barrier that would dispel anything they sent too. A one way dispelling was possible, very difficult, and churned mana in a way this one didn't. It would also need to be enclosed and these wards only went up to the trees.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Only to the trees.

  He floated over the tree level and lowered gently past the wards, triggering no response and coming with all his protections intact.

  Some darts of dispelling had to be batted away and wave after wave of only dispelling magic stopped Taramo in his tracks. It was the hardest sort of magic to stop but it was entirely ineffective to do any damage since dispelling would get rid of any secret spell that would try to be hidden. It would need something to hide in and no object had presented itself.

  Present trends would seem to continue so Taramo sent out a dozen fiery eels that swam through the air and attacked from different directions. The dispelling had to be concentrated to take each one out at a time and once the last was done the mage skeleton had it's neck in Taramo's grip.

  ---

  A noble, leader of her people. Someone cut down before her time. Entombed in a place only known because her life was rebound to her body. Her skills were needed. Her orders were absolute. She would fight. Dispelling magic counted as fighting. She refused with every essence of her being.

  ---

  An idiot raised this undead. Failed to even give it structured orders.

  And that idiot didn't make any contingencies for if it was taken over. The overthrow was simple and trivial when he wasn't under a barrage of dispelling magic and a simple order had the skeleton walking behind him, unable to act against him though she could think it.

  There were moral quandaries about letting an undead persist, especially one made with their memories and forced to obey. But they'd need the location of the desecrated barrow and the lady who forgot her own name would be perfectly ready to give it.

  A small rock, little more than a pebble, knocked off Taramo's shoulder. The skeleton behind him stood defiantly holding another rock. The tenets specified no magical attacks. He put a general ward behind himself and continued to walk back. Rocks plinked off occasionally alongside fragments of branches broken off dead trees but since there was no real attempt at harm he let it continue.

  Then they got back to the abbey clearing. It looked a lot worse coming back from the walk. The active damage was ended but there was a lot of evidence of the wild magic having been let loose.

  One of the skeletons had been turned into a massive oak shaped tree but had kept the skeletal structure in it's bark and had stringy leaves like long dead hair. Long grass made of bronze rattled like a horde of wind chimes as the wind pushed them and some smaller bushes had emerged with pale white leaves that didn't move in the wind. The rest of the remnants were less openly destructive but the clearing had been relatively flat and was now scarred with large rents into the dirt.

  "And there weren't even any others." Taramo muttered as he circled around the ruined land to get to the abbey's gate. The skeleton stopped throwing their rocks and sticks while they approached the group looking out from the walls. One of them, a Newporter who'd travelled with Taramo, was holding Ariwyn up to 'see' the ruin.

  Once he entered the vine slapped him about the shoulders.

  "Do you need to to tell you to minimize destruction every time?"

  "I was planning in case more enemies showed up." Taramo attempted.

  "But they didn't"

  "Yes, but I don't want to plan for my enemies to be stupid."

  "I'll accept that." The vine patted him on the head. "Now tell me about the dead prisoner you brought."

  The dead princess kept close to Taramo and didn't start anything with the others despite no orders. He looked where she had been looking and saw the dozen children from inside the abbey peeking around the door. "A noble. Brought back fully and ordered badly." Taramo kept it simple. "I hope she can bring us to the necromancer and deal with this issue before it gets bigger."

  The skeleton gave a look to Taramo and the vine housing Ariwyn, then shrugged.