Storm was flying through the air with Aurora, Razor and several griffins close behind him.
Augustus and several of the other elves were riding on the backs of the dragons and griffins in order to save time.
A elf that Storm was unfamiliar with was riding on his back and although it was difficult to read a cursed elf's emotional state, Storm could have sworn that the elf wasn't pleased with his position.
Storm was pretty sure he saw the elves drawing lots earlier.
Up ahead, the tiny fairy in draconic form was leading the formation towards the camp's position.
They had no need to conceal themselves as Kalipso had used her race's skills in illusion magic to hide them from prying eyes by placing a small barrier around their bodies that reflected light away from them.
Rendering them impossible to see from the ground.
After a short flight, Kalipso suddenly angled downwards towards a small hilltop and the others followed suit.
As they landed, Storm saw the smoke from the campsite fire up ahead. Several tents were pitched up in a small clearing.
The hunters were all sitting around the fire preparing breakfast, on a single wagon were several cages that housed fairy folk of various sizes.
Some closely resembled elves, while others were tiny humanoids with butterfly wings.
The hunters were all laughing and chatting around the fire as they waited. Several of them wore leather armor or chain mail and were carrying bows or spears as well as nets.
At least 3 of them were clearly magic users of some kind based on the robes and staves they kept close at hand.
One of the hunters was completely unlike the others though.
He was a brute of a man that was covered from head to foot in heavy plate armor . Nothing of his features were visible underneath the armor.
On his back was a massive sword that was almost as big as he was. He was sitting by himself and the other hunters seemed to be avoiding him.
"That brute over there seems to be the leader of the bunch based on what we've been able to observe. " said Kalipso.
Storm and the others carefully inspected the hunters while trying to guess their skill at arms.
"Too many for just us 3 to take on at once. I hope you've got a plan, Calamity?" Said Razor.
"You could wait for them to disperse? They'll be leaving soon to go hunting and they normally split off into smaller groups then?" Offered Kalipso.
Storm immediately shook his head.
"Already considered it, It's too risky. If they're split up, there's a chance that we might miss some of them and we can't afford to let any escape. " Storm replied.
"We could just rush them! Between you Aurora and the Griffins we should be able to take on those hunters easily. " suggested Augustus.
"No! The space around the camp would be confined even for us 3. If we add any more, then we'll keep getting in each other's way.!" Replied Storm.
"There is an hidden vale not far from here. It's surrounded on all sides by impassable terrain, with only one entrance.
The vale has the space we need if we can lure them there." Said Razor.
"I could fly over the camp and draw their attention? I could then lead them into the vale." Said Storm.
Razor immediately dismissed it.
"You could easily fly out of the vale.
They'll wonder why you're letting yourself be trapped like that.
They'll know something is going on."
"I could take human form and pretend I need help." Offered Storm.
"They're more likely to just kill you instead of helping. Hunter groups rarely help their rivals. " said Razor.
"Wait!! Do these rival groups often attack each other?" Asked Storm.
"All the time. Why?"
Storm gave a sly grin. "I have an idea. Wait for me at the Hidden Vale. I'll bring them there shortly. "
"Wait!! Let me cast a glamour bubble on you! It should deflect any spells those mages try to cast on you for a time!"
Once everyone left, Storm shifted to his human form.
He walked to the camp's edge, before firing a bolt of lightning at the campfire. The blast threw up sparks and pieces of firewood in every direction, causing the men to fly backwards.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Yelled one of the men.
"Cutting out the middle man obviously. Thank you so much for doing all the work catching those fairies for me."
Storm fired 2 more lightning bolts, hitting two men in the chest.
It took the hunters a few moments to organize into a proper unit.
The warriors in metal or chain armor took to the front, while the archers and mages stayed at the back.
Storm tried to fire another bolt into the formation but a barrier formed in front of the shield wall and deflected the bolt away from them.
As one, the entire formation started to advance on him causing Storm to take a step back.
After a moment, Storm twisted around and ran as fast as he could in the direction of the Vale.
"After him!!!" Yelled one of the men.
With a fierce battle cry, everyone took off in pursuit of him.
"So far, so good!" Thought Storm to himself.
Arrows and a variety of magical missles flew past him as the archers and mages took aim at him.
"Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all!!" Thought Storm.
He reached the place that Razor had described to him where the entrance was located and frantically began looking for it.
"Damn it!! Where is it!!?" Thought Storm in a panic.
Finally he saw the narrow entryway and dove into it just as the hunters came into view.
He took off running again, knowing that the hunters would be in close pursuit.
After a few minutes, the space around him opened up to reveal a large clearing.
A vast clifface blocked the way in front of him and thick plantlife blocked either side.
A moment latter the hunters ran into the clearing and blocked the only way out.
"Nowhere to run, sorcerer!! Give up and we'll make it quick for you!!" Yelled the armored man.
Storm gave no reply and turned around slowly.
He pulled back the sleeves of his robes to expose his arms as lightning began running down both arms.
The men simply laughed and began advancing on him again.
When they were halfway towards him, Storm gave the signal to Augustus.
"Now!!" He yelled mentally.
A single arrow flew from the forest around them and struck one of the mages at the back of the formation in the side of the neck.
He gurgled and a stream of blood left his mouth as he collapsed face first into the ground.
"AMBUSH!!!" Yelled the armored knight.