The Attack of Ganhai Mountain by Jason Richard (fox in socks read aloud txt) 📕

rock almost hit Leevan and he thought
He shouted another spell. This time he enchanted the wind. He essentially told it that it should be moving faster than the rocks, and the rocks shouldn't be moving at all. It worked this time. Gusts of wind knocked the projectiles off course, smashing them into larger rocks that thankfully weren't flying about.
The army was still slipping down the hill, and Leevan had to think. What trap was next? He remembered! They had crossed a lot of those invisible pits. Sure enough, someone far in front of him fell through what seemed to be solid ground, screaming!
Leevan thought quickly as a few more fell in. He came up with this one a bit more quickly. He thought of a spell to make the hole close up. He also saw Maelin about to slip into a hole, along with Normir at another. People were disappearing in front of them! Normir's armor wouldn't protect him from this! Leevan thought quickly. He had half a mind to let Maelin fall in and save Normir, but then no. That wasn't him. He had to save everyone he could.
He yelled the incantation. Even though the hole was invisible, it was still an imperfection in the mountain. The dirt over the holes gathered, and the people just slid over it, including Maelin and Normir. He repeated it for any other holes he saw soldiers fall into.
What was next? Leevan didn't have to think long to remember. As he slid, he tried to think about how they beat the plant traps before. The plants had shot out and slowly pulled them in. It shouldn't be too hard to do the same thing this time? Just pour water on them in exchange for freedom? The plants would even stop them from falling for a while.
Wrong.
Up ahead soldiers were being grabbed by plants and pulled under instantly. He remembered how fire had made the plants faster and realized that the more energy they had the stronger they must have been. Either way, they didn't have time to use his water spell and general Hevman was close to these things!
He thought fast. How could he keep the plants form shooting out of the ground? By making the ground too hard for the plants to burst through! He spoke the words and convinced the soil to imitate the rocks. They were both earth, why should one be stronger than the other?
The soil hardened, becoming rock like and smooth. he didn't see any more plants. The soldiers were slipping over quite fine until
The soil started cracking! The plants were stronger than he thought! But they were almost past them. Just a little further...the cracks got wider...almost there...little tendrils of the plants started poking out...almost!
A few soldiers at the top got pulled under, but they were past it. Leevan sealed that first invisible hole they passed and they made it. They slid to the foot of the mountain, and started piling up. Leevan landed with his stomach on somebody's helmet. It wasn't pleasant, and less so was the soldier who landed on top of him.
It took a while for everyone to stand up out of the pile. Many had landed on the burned and broken tends that had slipped down first, making it harder to stand. Leevan looked when he stood. The mountaintop was so far away now. It had taken ages to get up and only moments to get down. Going up they had so many people.
But now their numbers seemed so small. Leevan had saved as many as he could, even a few he didn't like, and now look at them.
A few seconds later, after everyone was down from the mountain and up on their feet, a few eagle men approached from the sky. A few seconds later dead eagle men fell, sliding down the slope and landing at the foot of the mountain, burns on their bodies from Hurvun's lightning. They piled up at the broken tents left behind and didn't get up again. Leevan looked at them. Even Vonor, the eagle man magician who was nice to him, was dead. So many had died.
How could they beat Hurvun now?

Chapter Eight
Anger and Thanks.

They held a funeral for the dead. It was night, under the shadow of the mountain. They honored the fallen in the light of a giant fire. They would have buried them, but that would have taken too much time. Hurvun could attack at any moment.
Leevan stared at the fire, and saw Vonor's face consumed by the flames. That eagle man was the only magician apart from Kemra who was nice to him, and now he was dead. Leevan didn't want his sacrifice to be in vain.
However, he looked up the mountain. It had been tricky enough going up, but now the slope was as slippery as ice. How could they get up now? They couldn't fly, and even that hadn't helped the eagle men. Would general Hevman order a retreat?
As bad as things were, they were worse for Leevan. If he had thought he had gotten angry looks when his spell made them low on water, they were nothing compared to now. Leevan still didn't understand. Both times he had saved them. Why were they angry? Especially this time?
Leevan walked away from the fire. He had honored the dead already, and he couldn't stand these looks. Maybe they were furious that he had done better than them. He had. No one else had shouted spells to save them as they fell down that slippery slope. No one.
A little away, somewhat out of the firelight, he turned around and was immediately pushed to the ground!
Maelin stood there, his yellow robes now torn and dirty. Dalib was there too, and his red robes weren't in better condition. Bendon also stood by in even worse purple robes. They were all mad at him.
And Maelin had his wand drawn. Leevan looked at it. Up close it looked like more than a metal stick. It was shaped like a knife almost. It wasn't really sharp, but it looked about as dangerous.
"What do you want?" asked Leevan bitterly.
"You really messed up Leevan," said Maelin.
"Hey, I saved your lives!" said Leevan, who was beginning to regret that.
"Oh, yeah, you saved our lives. Is that it? Look at us! We've half the number we had before! Those spells of yours were pathetic!"
Leevan couldn't deny that, but he was still angry. He stood up and faced Maelin head on. "We would all have died if I hadn't done anything," he said. "Besides, I didn't hear you shouting any spells."
"I never got the chance. You kept shouting spells before I had a chance to think. You got in my way! You realize that?"
"In your way? Time to think? No one had time to think! At least I was doing something! You know...I don't think you're mad because so many died.
"Is that so?" said Bendon.
"It is. You always say you keep me around for my protection, but that's not it is it?"
"Isn't it?" said Maelin.
"No. You keep me around because I save your lives. No, I can't seem to come up with a spell that can be used more than once, by my one time spells get us out of trouble too many times to ignore. I've saved your lives so many times, I think it's starting to bug you."
Veins in Maelin's forehead thickened, and Leevan figured he had nailed it.
"I think your jealous," said Leevan.
Maelin shouted and raised his wand! Leevan stepped back, but before Maelin could cast his spell a shiny hand grabbed him, squeezing his wand hand hard! Maelin let out a cry of pain and dropped his wand. Normir the cyclops had shown up.
Dalib raised his staff and shot a fireball at him, but it hit his armor with no effect. Dalib backed away uneasily as Normir threw Maelin to the ground. Bendon put on a ring and grew over ten feet high! He hefted a boulder, ready to throw it on Normir, who looked up at it, unimpressed.
Maelin had his wand and shot a beam of blue light at Normir, but it rebounded off his armor and hit the ground, making a flash! Bendon was about to drop his boulder on him when
"Enough!" cried general Hevman. "What in the blazes is going on there?!"
Bendon threw away his rock. Maelin stood with disdain, and Dalib stood back nervously.
"General," said Maelin. "This brute of a cyclops attacked me!"
"He was protecting me!" cried Leevan.
"Enough!" cried the general. "I don't know what happened here, but fighting amongst ourselves when so many have died is dishonorable. I should have you four whipped for this!"
"Four?" said Dalib. "What about Leevan?"
"He was the only one of you not fighting," said the General. "He will be receiving honors for saving so many. As many as there are on that funeral pyre we would all be dead if not for him."
Maelin and the other two sneered.
"As for you four," said the general. "I don't know what happened, so I will let this pass for now. However, If I find any one of you fighting again, that person will be whipped for his insolence. Save the fighting for the enemy. Is that understood?"
The magicians reluctantly nodded, but maintained their disdain.
"I may not be a magician," said general Hevman. "But I do not fear magic. Insolence will not be tolerated, even from you."
The general walked away. Maelin, Dalib and Bendon did too. That left Normir, who stood stoically, and Leevan, who was nervous that whole time. He looked at Normir gratefully.
"Thank you," he said.
"No problem," replied the cyclops.
They returned to the fire. Leevan still got angry looked from the magicians, except Kemra, but now he noticed that the soldiers were giving him a few encouraging glances. He even got a few friendly nods. That was nice. Still, he found it hard to feel good about this. They still had the problem of Hurvun, and there was still the dead in front of him.
With people finding faith in him, a friend by his side, and the dead to honor, he said to himself, "I'll find a way to beat him. Hurvun will pay for this. Maelin, you'd better not get in my way."

Chapter Nine
The Decision.

The Army gathered around General Hevman as he made his speech. He had been thinking all throughout the night, not even under his tent as all the tents were in a pile at the foot of the mountain, and he had come to his decision. Leevan waited anxiously with Normir next to him, Normir being out of his cyclops armor. They both had that question on their minds. Would they retreat, or go on?
"As you all know," the general spoke loudly and clearly so that all could hear him. "Hurvun's spell has made this mountain as slippery as