Backwoods summoner 2 a s.., p.1
Backwoods Summoner 2: A Slice of Life Fantasy, page 1
Backwoods Summoner 2
A Slice of Life Fantasy
Noah Layton
Copyright 2025 Noah Layton
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. All characters in this book are aged 21 or over.
Contents
Chapter 1 – Wild Spoils
Chapter 2 – Backyard Cooking
Chapter 3 – Moonshaw Archive
Chapter 4 – Civilized Roar
Chapter 5 – Unique Ingredient
Chapter 6 – Hideaway
Chapter 7 – Guardian’s Echo
Chapter 8 – Midnight Foray
Chapter 9 – Clean Up Operation
Chapter 10 – Not So Infernal
Chapter 11 – Best Lunch Ever
Chapter 12 – Necromancer By Night
Chapter 13 – Western Wilds
Chapter 14 – Feathers and Unicorns
Chapter 15 – From Out of the Water
Chapter 16 – Shara and Zoe
Chapter 17 – Strange Enchantment
Chapter 18 – To the Lake
Chapter 19 – Perfect Afternoon
Chapter 20 – Drink of Choice
Chapter 21 – Cloak and Lantern
Chapter 22 – Death’s Garden
Chapter 23 – Beneath the Lantern Light
Chapter 24 – Grove Warden
Chapter 25 – Shellkeeper
Chapter 26 – Hillside Meditation
Chapter 27 – River Rafting
Chapter 28 – Long Forgotten
Chapter 29 – Back Home
Chapter 30 – Amulet Restoration
Chapter 31 – Room to Dance
Chapter 32 – The Guardian is Still Echoing
Chapter 33 – Backwoods Living
Chapter 1
Wild Spoils
One of the many things all beings of the forest have in common is their command by the sunrise. They all bow to the orange glow of the sky and all of the warmth it gives.
Sunrise had long since passed, but I was happy for the late afternoon heat.
I kneeled close to the earth in the forest and brushed my gloved hand over the thick shrubbery. I separated a patch of Pillar Moss to get a closer look at the red leaves hiding beneath.
I was on the hunt for Ember Sprouts, a particularly volatile herb that had a tendency to ignite if kept in the wrong conditions, and there were a lot of conditions that those damned herbs considered to be wrong.
Growing them was hard enough, never mind picking them, so I had elected to cut out the middle man and go straight for finding some in the wild.
I examined the red leaves, but nope. Hoja leaf. I had used some for the 20-level gauntlet, but it wasn’t much use to me now.
A part of me breathed a sigh of relief. I wanted to find the sprouts, but handling them? Let’s just say they didn’t particularly like being cut from their roots.
I retrieved my summoning seal from my satchel, set it on the ground and tossed some of the pre-made concoction onto it. Aether Scout, one of the four first useful spells I had acquired after getting back to Level 20, phased to life upon the seal.
It took the form of a large crow composed of purple light. I had already summoned one back at the house to find the general area, but I needed another to send me in the specific direction.
‘Let’s try this again,’ I spoke to the shimmering purple bird. ‘Ember Sprouts. I know they’re around here somewhere. Show me the way.’
The freshly-summoned being glanced about itself before pushing off from the seal and taking off directly above in circles. Eventually it soared further west, meandering in a slow, strange pattern through the trees, not eager to get anywhere.
I was close.
I sheathed my herb blade and set off through the forest in the scout’s direction.
I had strayed far, not just from my house but my land, venturing into the vast forest that comprised the LaBeaux grounds next door.
Fortunately Brooke hadn’t minded ever since the time I accidentally trespassed, but that didn’t make the wilds any less wild.
I followed the crow’s path until its caws centered around a thick patch of shrubbery just ahead.
The faint heat that the area gave off was unmistakable, even in these warm wilds. I brushed aside the shrubbery and set my sights on the red plants.
‘There you are…’ I muttered to myself, drawing my herb blade, ‘This is the part where something is supposed to come creeping up on me, just like every time I’ve gotten distracted in the wilds… Come on, where are you?’
I looked about the forest in search of a monster that was surely awaiting me somewhere.
It was another golden rule of herb gathering; don’t get too committed when you find a patch in the open, because the moment you turn your back, that’s when the local beast comes hunting for you.
But there was nothing around. All I could hear was the cawing of the crow every few seconds.
I brought my blade to the first of the Ember Sprouts, checking that I had found a safe spot and plenty of cover to dash back into if these things went up in flames.
‘Okay…’ I breathed, ‘Wait…’
Something wasn’t right.
I looked up towards the cawing purple crow in the branches overhead.
But it wasn’t the caws of the Aether Scout. It had completed its objective in finding the sprouts, and had disappeared.
So why could I still hear the caws?
The only explanation was something else was making them – something that could replicate sound, something that I knew was lurking around here in these woods because I had run into it before.
The cawing suddenly became louder, and a gentle rustling at the edge of the patch of shrubbery pulled my attention upwards.
It was the Magnifier.
I had encountered the purple and yellow striped monster on the same occasion that I had met Brooke many weeks ago, and we had managed to avoid it.
Not this time. The eyeless, tiger-like being’s head moved about sharply as its large ears searched for my presence.
Too much foliage around me, too much noise. I couldn’t get away this time, even if I threw a stone as a distraction.
But I wanted these sprouts, and this time I had the means to fight back.
I carefully drew my combat blade. The sound of it sliding against the sheath caught the Magnifier’s attention.
Think I would have preferred a marsh golem.
I tossed my seal down on the ground with my free hand, then retrieved another pre-made vial from my satchel.
The trio of wolves that comprised Loyal Pack phased to life around me, stalking through the shrubbery.
The Magnifier growled, its sound-regurgitating ability causing its own growl to repeat over and over in a terrifying reverberation.
Suddenly it roared and dashed towards me.
I readied my blade. The spectral wolves of the pack arced around the sprouts towards the Magnifier sharply and threw themselves at the beast. Alone they were no match for it, but together they could do some real damage.
I held off while they launched attacks at the beast from different angles, sinking their fangs into the monster from all sides. The Magnifier did a great job lashing out in return.
By the time all three of the wolves were diminished and faded, my foe was sufficiently injured. It snarled at me, but I started forwards with my blade raised.
The Magnifier bowed its head and took off into the forest, defeated.
Magnifiers were reasonably intelligent beings considering their unique hunting traits, but their ferocity also meant they had a knack for getting themselves into fights without too much thought about the consequences.
Before, I had sought to dodge the thing entirely with Brooke at my side. Now, with the ability to summon Loyal Pack and various other useful entities, I was the one standing my ground.
I carefully cut away the sprouts, watching the distinct embers burn at the point where the stems had been severed. It had to be done slowly, otherwise it would behave like dynamite.
I returned to the river with my haul and found the chest I had left by it. It was the same that I had found back on the top floor of the tower when I had first arrived in Moonshaw,
I flipped it open, revealing the frozen innards. The frost-lilies would stabilize the heat of the sprouts for a little while until I got them back, and I was eager to do it fast.
I had a dinner date with two beautiful women to get to.
Chapter 2
Backyard Cooking
Back on my land, I checked up on the fixed summoning seal outside of my tower. The tower itself had stayed locked up this past week, and while I planned on turning it into a workshop for my cavalier summoning experiments, right now I was just enjoying my new home after completing the gauntlet.
‘Thanks again, Morgan,’ I smiled, brushing the dusty dirt from the edges of t he large, fixed seal. ‘Time to build something for myself.’
I set off northwards through the forest and soon arrived at the back of my house. I headed through the back gate and into the cozy yard that Morgan had turned into his impromptu workshop.
I had tidied the place up since using Specter’s Shadow to break through the shield surrounding it, and had brought my herb prep table over from outside of the tower.
Now it was a cozy workshop of its own, scattered with vials and herbs that invited me to start work with their many colors.
None of that had my attention, though; I was too busy focusing on the beautiful, antlered brunette woman stood at the barbecue wearing the Kiss the Mage apron, and not a whole lot else beneath it besides a set of lacy black underwear.
‘Hey,’ Brooke smiled over at me warmly, waving her spatula in one hand and brushing her other hand through her hair. ‘Did you find them?’
‘With a little trouble,’ I replied, setting the chest down and flipping the lid. ‘You ready for them?’
‘Definitely.’
‘You taking inspiration from Zoe?’ I asked.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Cooking in nothing but underwear and an apron.’
‘These Ember Sprouts really enhance the flavor. Can’t have my clothes smelling. Besides, you got a problem with me dressing like this?’
‘Definitely not.’
‘I thought so.’
The Ember Sprouts weren’t intended to be used for a summoning spell; they were going to char the outside of the rib-eyes with an intense heat so we could really sear them.
I headed inside, glancing over my shoulder to get another look at Brooke’s perfect figure and the gentle curve of her back as she grilled the side dishes that would go alongside the steaks.
Upon finally getting inside the house at the close of my last adventure, I had found the place barely disturbed, never mind furnished. Morgan had stayed true to his nomadic roots to the last, and all that remained inside the house was an armchair pointed towards the fire, accompanied by a side table and a bottle of whisky.
It was the perfect blank canvas to make my own.
I washed up at the kitchen sink, and was drying off my hands when the door behind me clicked open. Zoe, the busty blonde high-elf enchanter, arrived in the kitchen wearing a ragged summer dress and carrying a case of beer in one hand and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in the other.
She looked to me with her majestic blue eyes and raised them both.
‘You guys want beer or wine? I’ve got a red that will go great with rib-eye.’
‘Where did you get those?’ I asked. ‘Is there a stash in here I don’t know about?’
‘There’s a stash you don’t know about back at my place. While you were out there foraging, I made a trip to go pick these up.’
‘What would you recommend?’
‘I thought you would have a pretty decent pallet being a summoner in the field,’ Zoe said, ‘Surely you must have stopped by plenty of bars and dives in your time.’
‘Yeah, but my colleagues were never the type to refine much, never mind their pallets.’
‘Neither were mine, but there’s always time to appreciate the finer things.’
I glanced between the options. ‘I’m guessing beer is the wrong choice?’
‘How about you just try the Cabernet?’ She asked, waving it a little. Maybe I could resist the more refined option, but I couldn’t resist the busty smoke show holding it.
‘All right, I’ll try it.’
‘Smart choice.’
I had wrapped up the rib-eyes to protect them against any greedy flies lurking around and left them on the counter just before setting off to find the Ember Sprouts. Now they were at room-temperature, they were ready to go.
Zoe and I headed outside with the wine and the steaks and met up with Brooke.
‘A gold piece says Alex already made a comment about how good you look,’ Zoe said.
‘I can’t believe you just won a bet without somebody else saying a thing,’ Brooke laughed over her shoulder. ‘Ooh, are those for me?’
Brooke unwrapped the steaks and set them carefully on the grill, then turned her attention to the Ember Sprouts from the chest.
‘Take a couple of steps back,’ Brooke said. Zoe and I did as we were told. Brooke gave us another look. ‘Probably best to take a couple more.’ We did.
Brooke took one of the Ember Sprouts, stepped back as far as she could and tossed it among the flames before leaping back again.
The flames shrouded immediately around the edge of the pan and climbed several yards into the air. I could feel the heat of the flames from many yards away, watching them engulf the cuts.
‘That’s exactly the kind of reaction I was hoping for,’ Brooke smiled, staying a little too close than I would be comfortable myself. She spun around and pointed her spatula at us both, ‘I don’t mean to brag, but you’ve never had a meal like this, never mind a cut.’
Zoe and I both saw the embers crawling over Brooke’s antlers at the same time, and Zoe got there first.
‘Brooke, antlers!’
‘What?’ She frowned, glancing up. ‘Oh, Maker…’
She took a damp cloth from where it rested nearby on the barbecue and pressed it quickly around the tips of her antlers, ridding them of the embers.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked.
‘Please, they’ll be fine. Not the first time I’ve done something like that, believe me. So who’s hungry?’
Brooke plated up dinner for the three of us, and we each took a seat around an old wooden garden table that had been sitting down the side of the house. It was rickety but stable; all that I could really ask from a table.
‘I would ask for honest feedback, but I won’t.’
‘Why?’ I asked.
‘It was Ms. LaBeaux’s favorite. Probably the thing that ended up killing her in the end. Then again, if I was on death’s door and over a century old, I’d be okay with indulging in a few steaks, even if it meant shortening my life by a couple of days. Can’t enjoy it when you’re gone.’
‘She always make you call her Ms. LaBeaux? Never Delia?’
‘She was one for formalities until the end, and I wasn’t going to betray that. Worked out in the end considering she left me a freaking mansion.’
‘I’m guessing it was because of your cooking skills,’ Zoe smiled, cutting off a piece, admiring the redness between the charred ends and closing her lips around her fork.
‘So now that you’ve cleared the gauntlet,’ Brooke spoke, looking to me, ‘I’m guessing you’re going to be grinding your way through the next block of levels? I can only imagine things get a whole lot more powerful after those four powerful spells that get dumped on you at Level 20.’
‘That’s part of what I’m going to do,’ I nodded, ‘But just a part. I’ve got fragments of experimental summons that I theorized over the years while I was working for the guild. I want to work on them next.’
‘Are they going to be as dangerous as Specter’s Shadow?’ Zoe asked. ‘I’m just saying, I’ve seen some impressive enchantments in my time, but that? Phasing through things is simple. Phasing through anything is completely different.’
‘A lot of them were never more than theories,’ I replied, ‘And it was risky working on them, not just because of the chance of something going wrong, but because the guild might have discovered what I was up to. Most are half-finished and are going to need a lot more experimentation. But there are a few which I could brew right now…’
‘In the field?’ Zoe said. ‘Miles away from a guild headquarters, why would you be worried about them finding out what you were doing?’
‘You never know who you’re working with. Teams are usually tight, but you anger somebody, they anger you, things can get icy and the next thing you know, you get ratted out.’
‘Is that what happened to you?’ Zoe asked. ‘Somebody told the Grand Council of your guild about you?’
‘Probably, but that’s in the past. I’m not going to waste time worrying about which jackass got bitter because I made some passing comment and he decided to sell me out. I mean, look what I’ve got now: a home and a patch of land in a nice town, plenty of cash, access to herbs for my summoning… And the company isn’t terrible, either.’
‘The company’s not bad,’ Zoe smiled. ‘The steak, on the other hand, is excellent.’
We finished up our steaks. Zoe’s pleasured eye-rolling as she ate was an understatement as far as I was concerned; Brooke had gifted me some of the same beautifully-marbled cuts after we had first met, and while I thought that my way of cooking it was pretty decent, she clearly had some secret that made it so much better.
