by Seth Ring
Crouched behind a large tree, Mina listened carefully for the signal from the stealthed archer who stood in the branches of a tree a bit further down the road. Despite the burning sun, Mina’s body was cool, one of the small perks of her Ice Witch class. Fiddling with her wand, Mina’s mind had wandered slightly when the signal came through the team channel. Banishing her distracting thoughts, Mina blinked to the top of the tree that she had been hiding behind and began to summon her ice.
Down below her, the tanks who had been hiding on either side of the road surged forward, standing shoulder to shoulder to block the Orcs’ path. Arranged in a wedge formation with Heidi at the point, they charged into the surprised Orcs, their weapons working as fast as possible. With the tanks taking all of the Orcs’ attention, the ranged DPS hiding on either side of the road began to let loose.
Thorn, hiding in the woods, heard the signal at the same time as Mina, but instead of rushing forward, he began to count. When he had counted to fifteen, he dashed forward, followed by a tide of wolves. Despite how close the trees of the forest were together; Thorn and the Children of the Moon had no trouble navigating their path. Seeming to sometimes become insubstantial, the Children of the Moon used the shadows of the forest to great effect, stepping from one to the next.
The Orc caravan had fallen into disarray when the players first appeared, but even the most common Orc was a warrior, so they soon gathered into a fighting formation and rushed forward to engage the tanks. Braving the spells and arrows raining down on them, the Orcs slammed into the tank line with an earth shaking crunch.
Sweeping through the woods, Thorn waited until he was around fifty feet from his target before unleashing [Wolf Lord’s Howl]. As the cry echoed through the forest, the Children of the Moon picked it up, causing the Orcs to fall into confusion once again. Thorn’s eyes were fixed on an ornately decorated cart toward the center of the caravan, and that is where he led his forces. Sprinting out of the woods, Thorn jumped and canceled his [Wolf Form] ability in mid-flight.
Without drawing his tetsubo, he smashed into the Orc formation, crushing a few Orc workers under his hefty bulk. Smoothly spinning around, Thorn jumped, lashing out with his foot in a spinning heel kick right into the side of the ornate cart.
*BOOM*
The resulting explosion of wooden splinters was loud enough that it gathered the attention of everyone on the battlefield for a moment. The players, noticing it was Thorn who had destroyed something, were able to quickly get back to their fight, but the Orcs had a bit more trouble, no thanks to the incredibly intimidating picture that Thorn presented.
The top of the cart had been removed completely, revealing the two passengers who were riding inside. Two Shaman scrambled from the wreckage of the cart, both wielding strange curved staffs. Unlike the raggedly dressed Orc Shaman that Thorn had fought, these Shaman looked more like Arhtu. Dressed in ornate robes, they would have appeared more like well-dressed mages if they were not currently rolling on the ground. Both of them had their magical shields active to avoid getting crushed along with the cart, but that had not stopped them from getting covered in splinters.
Unwilling to give them time to reorient themselves, Thorn jumped forward, his fist punching down onto one of the Shaman’s heads. Under the astonished gazes of the surrounding Orcs, the Shaman appeared to vanish. One moment he was trying to gain his bearings, and the next he was simply gone. As Thorn had rushed forward to attack, he had used his [Spiritual Sense] to hollow out the ground underneath the Shaman, leaving nothing but a thin crust of earth under his feet. The punch had been blocked by the magic shield that surrounded the Shaman, but it had not been able to prevent the Shaman from being forced down into the pit that Thorn had created. As the Shaman disappeared into the hole, Thorn pounced toward the other Shaman, unleashing a side kick that sent him flying through the air.
While Thorn had engaged the Orc forces, the rest of the players who had been with him charged into the distracted enemy lines. Rather than fighting from on top of their bond-wolves, the players all jumped down, rushing into the Orc caravan in groups while the Children of the Moon continued to hunt along the edges of the fight. The Orc Shaman that Thorn had kicked landed with a thump, his magical shield flickering out as it absorbed as much damage as it could take.
Roaring with rage, the Orc Shaman tried to lift his staff only to find the strength bleeding out of his fingers. Confused, he began to turn his head, but found he lacked the strength. A moment later, his world faded to black for the final time, as the three players who had just ambushed him reentered stealth and rushed off to find new targets.
In the center of the caravan, Thorn pulled out his tetsubo and began to spin the massive metal weapon, causing utter devastation among the Orcs who rushed toward him. With his long reach, most of the Orcs never got close enough for their attacks to reach him, and the few that did simply bounced off of his armor. After cutting down the initial wave of Orcs, Thorn found himself standing in an empty area, as the other Orcs thought better of getting into his range.
Smiling grimly, Thorn scanned the battlefield for other targets. One of the two Shaman had been killed, and the other was still temporarily trapped underground where Thorn had smashed him. Through his [Spiritual Sense] Thorn could feel the remaining Shaman struggling to claw his way out of the earth. Since the Orcs were largely staying out of his reach, Thorn paused for a moment, centering himself and focusing his [Spiritual Sense]. He had never used it offensively before, so he was unsure if he was going to be able to damage the Shaman underground, but it was certainly worth a shot.
Seizing the earth elemental energy that spread under his feet, Thorn condensed it into a sharp spike, thrusting it through the ground and into the Orc. The last vestiges of the Orc’s shield managed to block most of the attack, but before it crumbled, a shard of the stone spike punctured through the shield, stabbing into the Orc Shaman’s arm. From under the earth came an enraged hiss, and then Thorn witnessed something incredible through his [Spiritual Sense].
Chapter Fifty-Two
In the underground pit the Orc Shaman’s eyes flashed with insanity as the shard of stone cut his arm and without hesitating, he wrenched his arm through the dirt and pressed his curved staff against the bleeding wound. Low and powerful, a hiss that shook the earth all around him echoed out of the staff as it began to absorb his blood. Though the cut was not deep the blood pouring from it did not abate, instead growing into a torrent as the Shaman’s arm withered at a visible rate. As it consumed his blood, the staff began to twist and swell, a bloody red pattern emerging all over it. Small scales began to appear on the shaft of the staff, growing clearer and clearer as the Shaman’s blood washed over it.
Finally satiated, the top of the staff split open into a six pronged maw that resembled the legs of an octopus. Instead of suckers, the writhing tentacle-like appendages were covered with razor sharp teeth. A sinuous body stretched behind the head, growing longer and thicker by the moment even as the head of the creature continued to spread. Soon the snake-like creature had grown to the point that the hollow that Thorn had created could no longer contain it.
Bursting from the earth, its six tentacle-like appendages waved in the air as it issued a high pitched screech. Rushing out of the hole, it stretched to its full, eleven foot height. As soon as it appeared Thorn noticed the disgusting stench that radiated off of it. A deep growl rumbled in his chest as the overwhelming desire to crush the monster washed over him. Around the battlefield, the heads of every single one of the Children of the Moon snapped toward the worm-like creature, low growls spilling from their lips.
*ding*
“Well, this seems like a problem.” Mina said over the team channel. “We probably need to make sure those things don’t escape.”
“You think?” Thorn grunted, bringing his tetsubo down with two hands onto the squirming devil worm.
In a flash, the creature slipped out of his range, seizing an Orc soldier as it went. Gripping
the unfortunate Orc by the leg, it sunk its razor sharp teeth deep into his skin. Instead of the bloody mess that Thorn expected, the Orc simply shriveled up as the Blood Leech sucked out all his blood in an instant. Under the player’s horrified gazes, the Blood Leech finished the Orc and made a hitching motion, as if it was throwing something up. A small squirming ball fell from its mouth as the drained Orc’s body fell apart, followed by another, and then another.
Soon there was a small pile of squirming larvae, but before anyone could react, they began to slither away, growing visibly. Horrified, Thorn glanced at the quest window that had popped up, only to have his worst fears confirmed.
“Mina, Alph, any way you can slow them down? If we don’t keep them contained we will be in a huge amount of trouble? We need to clear the Orcs as quickly as possible to keep them from reproducing!” Thorn snapped, lunging forward to try and draw the adult Blood Leech’s attention.
“Uh, bad news, Thorn. Those babies seem to be able to crawl into the Orc’s dead bodies. They won’t vanish until after the fight, so we don’t have a good way to stop them from reproducing.” Mina said, bombarding an Orc body with [Ice Spikes].
“Unless we fire bomb them.” Alph interjected. “Firebombing always works!”
“Just focus on the fight. Alph, try to keep the collateral damage as low as possible.”
Chasing after the adult Blood Leech, Thorn quickly found that the battle fell into a strange rhythm. There were three different forces fighting against each other, each trying to destroy the other two forces and keep themselves alive. The smallest force was the Blood Leeches, though they were beginning to rapidly swell in number as they consumed the fallen Orcs. While they had the highest numbers, the Orcs were in the most dangerous position. On one side they had the players who were determined to wipe them out, and on the other side they had the Blood Leeches that their own Shaman had summoned. Both sides looked at them as prey and with their leaders dead or buried underground, they were not organized enough to resist either enemy.
The Charging Wolf Army was in the dominant position and did their best to control the battlefield. While there were only fifteen hundred players, each one of those players had a bonded giant wolf, bringing their total numbers to around three thousand combatants. Under Thorn’s direction, the players focused on killing the Orcs while the Children of the Moon hunted the Blood Leeches. The disgusting smell coming off of the Blood Leeches acted like a magnet for Thorn and the Children of the Moon, allowing them to ferret out the young leeches hiding among the corpses.
Thorn was chasing down the adult Blood Leech with Mina and Akira, but despite their efforts the creature was too slippery to pin down. Finally, frustrated that they could not deal any significant damage to it, Thorn changed his tactics.
[Akira, burn any Orc bodies nearby, we need to starve the Blood Leech out. If we can’t kill it, we can at least keep it from reproducing.]
[Got it, master!]
Lifting her tails, Akira began to summon swarms of fireballs, showering their surroundings with crimson flames. The fireballs targeted the fallen Orcs, beginning to burn their bodies into ash. Annoyed that its food was being consumed by the magic flame, the adult Blood Leech lifted its head and hissed at Akira, causing her fur to stand up. Dashing behind Thorn, Akira peeked out from behind his body with a shudder.
[Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.] Thorn smiled slightly at Akira’s action, causing his battle pet to huff.
[I’m not afraid, master, it's just too gross. What if that slimy saliva got on my pretty fur? I bet that would take forever to get off!]
Chuckling, Thorn activated [Shadow Dash], taking advantage of the Blood Leech’s posturing to close the distance. Having learned their lesson, Thorn and Mina coordinated to try and trap the worm. With a flick of her wand, the Ice Witch summoned three ice walls behind the Blood Leech, trying to trap it in place. As the worm tried to back up, it felt the icy walls behind its back and reacted in a flash.
Squeezing its tentacles into a spike, the Blood Leech dropped its head and stabbed it into the ground. Within an instant more than half of its body had sunk into the earth as it tried to dig its way to freedom. Opening his mouth, Thorn activated [Wolf Lord’s Howl] again, using the brief moment of hesitation that it caused to cancel [Shadow Dash] and reach down. His sharp claws dug into the Blood Leech’s tough scales, allowing his fingers to get a solid grip. Rather than pulling up, Thorn closed his eyes and allowed his [Spiritual Sense] to sink into the earth.
Taking control of the earth elemental energy around the Blood Leech’s body, he compressed it as fast as he could, trying to form a solid block of stone around the monster. The Blood Leech could sense the movement of the tightening rock and began to thrash its body to try to free itself. Feeling like his hand was beginning to slip, Thorn reached down and got a good grip with his other hand, suppressing the Blood Leech’s movements.
“Thorn! Watch out!”
Focused on the struggling devil worm, Thorn had not seen the streak of corrosive green arcane energy that was flying toward his back. By the time he heard Mina’s shout the attack was only a few feet from his back and was impossible to dodge.
[Armor of the Earth]
A rush of yellow energy sprang to life around Thorn, blocking the acid spell and causing it to explode. Deadly green poison dripped from Thorn’s back, sliding down to the ground where it began to eat away at the dirt. His attention shaken by the abrupt attack, Thorn lost control of the ground around the Blood Leech, allowing it to twist its body around. Turning its head, the Blood Leech shot up out of the earth, its dreadful mouth opening like a bloody flower as it tried to bite Thorn.
Growing angrier by the second, Thorn found it impossible to contain the burning in his chest. As the Blood Leech’s head broke the surface [Wolf’s Rage] triggered, sending a tremor through his body. Letting go of the Blood Leech’s tail, Thorn’s claws shot out, fixing themselves around its neck. With a deep roar, he ripped the creature from the ground, the friction lacerating its body badly. Rising up to his full height, he lifted the Blood Leech into the air and grabbed its squirming body with his other hand.
Turning his head to where the Orc Shaman who had clawed his way back above ground was standing, Thorn roared again, ripping the Blood Leech in half. Still holding the writhing head, he threw the other half of its body to the side and vanished from where he stood.
[Predator's Leap]
The boom came half a second later as the place where Thorn had been standing was depressed from the force of his launch. Flying through the air, Thorn drew back his fist, the burning eyes of his armor fixed on the Shaman. A moment later his fist smashed into the Shaman’s chest, crushing his bones and driving him into the ground in an explosion of dirt. As the dirt and dust fell to the ground, Thorn’s huge figure stood like an ancient behemoth, a deadly pressure radiating off of him. In that moment, every living thing in the surrounding area froze in uncontrollable fear.
Watching from a distance, Mina and Athena shared a concerned glance.
“This…?” Athena whispered; her voice unnaturally loud in the silence.
“This is what I was talking about.” Mina said, adjusting her grip on her wand.
“Have you talked to him?”
“No,” Mina swallowed, suppressing a shiver. “He doesn’t realize that he is doing it.”
Still gripped by his rage ability, Thorn’s mind was surprisingly unclouded and operating at peak performance. He could feel his [Spiritual Sense] enveloping his mind and body, giving him a feeling of absolute control. With perfect awareness of his body he seemed to instinctively know how to get the absolute most out of every movement he made. As he breathed, he could feel that sense of control stretching into the space around him, permeating every molecule. The subtle twitches of each creature that stood in the space under his control was laid bare to Thorn as millions of bits of information were fed into his mind. Taking another breath, a strange sense of indifference crept into his he
art.
With absolute awareness of where every single one of the Blood Leeches hid, Thorn flicked his finger, forming over a hundred stone spikes that darted from the earth. All across the battlefield the Blood Leeches exploded into spurts of crimson liquid as the spikes ripped through them.
*ding*
Ignoring the pop up, Thorn’s burning gaze swept the battlefield, causing each of the Orcs who fell under his vision to quiver in abject terror. Just as Thorn was about to lift his hand again, the strength and control that had filled him retreated like a tide, emptying out of his body in an instant. With a cough Thorn fell to one knee with a thud. The aura of absolute suppression that he had radiated a moment earlier was gone, replaced with a frail spirit that felt as if it was about to blow away with the wind.
“Iron Wolves!”
Athena’s voice roared out, breaking the strange silence that dominated the battlefield. Brilliantly shining flowers spun around her, the petals shooting out to cover both the players and the Children of the Moon.
“KILL!”
Chapter Fifty-Three
Raising their voices together, the Charging Wolf Army burst into action, redoubling their efforts to cut down the still stunned Orcs. Thorn’s overwhelming aura had sent shivers down the backs of the players and NPCs alike, but the players were able to recover from their abnormal state faster, gaining a significant advantage over the still frightened Orcs. As the battle began to rage again, Thorn remained slumped where he had fallen, his breath coming in huge gasps. Despite his powerless appearance, the Orcs around him stayed well clear, a deep seated fear burned into their hearts and minds.