by Aleron Kong
Besides the cost, the only real downside he could see was that many of the spells were level ten. It meant they were too advanced to store in his Ring of Spell storage. The handy little band had saved his bacon several times. Being able to cast a spell immediately in case of emergency gave an amazing tactical advantage in any situation. Still, he wasn’t complaining.
The first phase of the journey was blessedly uneventful. Night fell, but the mist lights they took with them were enough to navigate the forest. Richter had been concerned that the lights could be seen in the forest, giving away their position, but Hisako had already foreseen that issue and had a simple solution. She cast a mass spell on all of the lights before they left the village. Now, anyone more than fifty paces from an individual light could not see it. It didn’t impede the sight abilities of those holding the globes, but it did create a strange effect. To the members of the warband near the front of the column, it looked like those in the rear were walking in darkness. Those in back had the same impression of the front. Weird or not, her spell made things much safer, and she said it should last for twelve hours.
Scouts were deployed ahead and around the warband. They periodically reported observing animals or low level monsters, but nothing stronger. As Richter had predicted, though, these creatures fled before the war party. While the sprites traveled in near-complete silence, Richter’s guards stomped, broke branches and cursed as they walked through the forest. If not for the movement bonus from Richter’s War Leader skill, it might have taken all night to reach the edge of his domain. Because of him, they left the mists after only about three hours. The mist lights stopped working, and the true danger had begun.
There was no natural demarcation that they had traveled ten miles, but the trees had gradually been getting less dense. It made travel faster, but also increased the chances of the war party being seen. Yoshi had made it clear that the goblins could very well have scouts placed throughout the woods. The Battle Leader tripled the number of scouts that were around the warband.
Torches were lit and enspelled. The army traveled more miles. True night had fallen, and the canopy above blocked out all moon and starlight. Without being told to do so, all members of the war party clustered closer together. Though battle loomed with the dawn, they all instinctively knew one thing. The night was dark and full of terrors… They were right.
A scream was the first indication that they were under attack. By then, it was too late. Something swooped in from above and carried away one of his guardsmen from the back of the warband before anyone could react. The scream lasted only a few seconds before it cut off abruptly. While everyone searched the skies, arrows nocked, another scream echoed from the front of the line. Again, from just the corner of his eye, Richter saw something large speed by and grab a sprite before disappearing into the dark of the forest again. This time the screams did not end quickly. Instead, they grew louder and more piteous, seemingly just out of range of the light the warband carried.
The Mist Village guards had begun to run towards the sounds of the screaming, but stopped when Yoshi shouted, “Stand fast! Stay shoulder to shoulder and do not let yourself be surprised.”
Manic laughter rose from all around them, and fear began to infect their hearts. Mutters popped up throughout the warband, “There must be dozens of them! I can still hear him screaming! What is happening? Why are we even here? We are going to die!” Another dark blur flew in from east to west, and two of the warband fell to the ground screaming, large gouges on their faces.
Richter felt an urge to run, to give up, and to abandon hope. Doubts and fears began to worm themselves into his heart, and his thoughts were occupied by basically anything except standing fast against whatever was attacking them. Then it stopped.
Confused and befuddled, Richter checked his combat log.
Richter has been assaulted by unknown Fear attack.
Richter has resisted unknown Fear attack.
Whether it was because of the Fighting Spirit of the warband, the bonus from the pixies’ song, or if it was because of his various resistances, Richter was able to fight off the magic caused by the maniacal laughter that surrounded him. The doubts that had assaulted him faded into the background. He was able to stop feeling like they came from within, and instead clearly identified them as an assault from without. Doubt faded and a familiar transformation began to overtake him. Fuck fear, he thought. I’ll take rage!
Alma had been trying to communicate with him for the past few seconds, but Richter’s mental turmoil had kept him from hearing her. As soon as his mind cleared, her message came through to him.
*I see it. It’s coming for me!*
His agile familiar was weaving through the trees as one of the monsters chased her. The dragonling had had the foresight to cast Weak Haste, Weak Life Armor and Weak Life Aura once she had seen the monster chasing her. As she sent him a mental image, he couldn’t disagree with her choice.
It wasn’t black, but it had blue skin so close to midnight that the difference was academic. Its overall body was humanoid, and it had a mane of thick, dirty grey hair. Each hand only had three fingers, but they were large and tipped with dark talons. It grinned as it chased his familiar and a faint green light would be seen emanating from its mouth, outlining a mouth filled with long, needle-like teeth.
*Bring it to me!* he shouted mentally. Richter placed an arrow to his bow and began to imbue it. He poured his mana into the magic field around the arrow and pulled on the connection he had with Alma, accessing his newly enhanced subskill. Another scream echoed from his right, and then two from his left, but he didn’t let himself be distracted. He couldn’t help those who had just been attacked by running around like a headless chicken. What he could do was protect his familiar and take out one of the attackers. Besides, he wasn’t alone.
Yoshi had fought off the effects of the magical fear as well. The Battle Leader wasted no time and climbed to the top of a nearby boulder. Raising blade into the air, he activated a Talent that was only available to Warriors with the War Leader skill, Valiant Anger. Everyone in his Sphere of Influence gained a 200% bonus against Fear, Feeblemind and Confusion effects. The Talent also channeled any negated effects into anger, increasing the Fighting Spirit of all those afflicted. A low roar of anger spread through the warband, that rose in volume until the manic laughter of the flying creatures was drowned out.
The Hearth Mother also entered the fray. As important as Yoshi’s efforts were, she would not be outdone. As soon as the attacks started, she began casting. Her hands moved in intricate patterns, and golden Life energy began to surround her arms. The will of the sprite leader was too great to be affected by the fear-inducing laughter of the monsters attacking them, and her spell continued unabated. Words that were beautiful in shape, but still horrible in the power, flowed from her lips, and reality was shaped by a Master of magic. Eight seconds later, she finished her spell, “Rana ito Callaban!”
The initial manifestation of her spell, Lira’s Death Prison, was humble. A pale globe of golden energy floated into the air, growing larger as it rose. A tether of energy connected it to Hisako’s chest, and she continued to feed mana into the spell. Initially only a foot across, the globe quickly grew to four feet, then eight, before finally swelling to a diameter of ten feet. The walls of the globe seemed to strain for a moment, then it burst!
Particles of golden light flew everywhere. The motes of light weren’t stopped by the flesh of bodies or the wood of the trees. Instead, they flew through them, leaving a luminescent gold residue on anyone they touched. They shot out for two hundred yards in every direction, and every member of the warband as well as the creatures attacking them were struck and began to glow. If the fact that they stopped laughing and started howling in anger was any indication, the attackers were furious about it.
The motes of light all stopped moving at once, and began to hover in midair. Then they flared, and a dome of pale golden light phased into existence. One of the m
onsters, easily seen with the motes of light sticking to it, tried to fly past the barrier. As soon as it touched the wall of the dome, the golden light flared, and the creature was thrown back. It screamed in pain, one wing flapping weaker than the other, as it took refuge in a tree.
“Kill them now,” Hisako called out in a fierce voice. “The spell will only last for ten minutes. Do not let them escape!” She began casting again, and the sprites began imbuing arrows, sighting on the ten or so monsters that could now be clearly seen. Since the monsters had stopped their laughter, even those that had remained stricken after Yoshi used his Talent were able to shake off the monsters’ Fear effect. Led by Sion, Terrod, Caulder and the Battle Leader, they started hunting. Richter’s attention remained on his familiar and the arrow he was imbuing.
The aura around the arrow had progressed from the barber pole appearance to the continually moving black and gold yin-yang. Blue-white lightning danced across the aura. It was time. Richter sent a message to Alma to bring the creature towards him. She had been weaving between the trees, buying the precious seconds Richter needed until he was ready. The dragonling banked sharply around a trunk, staying just ahead of the monster’s grasping talons. The thing cried out in frustration at being unable to catch the nimble psionic.
At her master’s order, Alma put on a burst of speed and flew towards the warband. The monster was furious enough now that it barely noticed flying out of the safety of the trees. It did notice the strangely glowing arrow pointing at it, however. The monster started to veer off and flee back into the relative safety of the dark. That was when it learned that Alma had never actually been prey.
In a feat of extreme agility, Alma flapped hard and then tucked her wings next to her body. A yellow aura surrounded her as she flipped head over tail, until she was facing the screaming face of her pursuer. She took one moment to wink at the monster, something she had seen Richter do when he was trying to be particularly obnoxious, then a bolt of lightning shot from her body into the open mouth of the monster.
The spell might be called Weak Lightning Bolt, but striking the enemy flyer in the face was a critical hit! The lightning surged down its body, and between Alma’s high level, her 50% bonus to Air magic and the vulnerable spot where the creature was struck, the spell overwhelmed the monster’s defenses; it was stunned!
With her wings folded in, Alma’s body dropped like a stone. The monster’s body passed over her, falling as well, but on a higher trajectory. After falling five feet, she spread her wings again, catching the air, and flapped to gain altitude. The night was cut by her shriek of victory as Richter finished the ambush the two had psychically planned.
Correcting slightly for the change in his target’s speed, Richter finished a slow exhale and released. The black and gold arrow sped towards the senseless monster, striking it in the face with a resounding BOOM! Echoing detonations sounded around the globe as the sprites brought down more and more of the creatures, but again, Richter’s focus was only on the monster that had dared to attack his familiar. The five hundred mana he had imbued into the arrow had struck like a Mack truck and arrested most of its forward momentum. Richter stumbled slightly. The near depletion of his mana pool gave him a horrible headache and his vision blurred. With gritted teeth, he focused and his vision cleared. The monster fell almost straight down, and he used Analyze.
Name: Winged Koolari Disposition: Anger
Winged Koolari are a type of living dead that hunt by inducing fear in their prey. Pack hunters, their manic laughter will make even the bravest adventurer abandon reason and run screaming. The intellect of these monsters makes them especially deadly.
Level: 34
Health: 168/940Mana: 211/240Stamina: 294/360
Strength: 31
Agility: 35
Dexterity: 28
Constitution: 74
Endurance: 36
Intelligence: 24
Wisdom: 22
Charisma: 5
Luck: 12
The fucking thing was still alive! Between the five hundred mana he had invested, its helpless Stunned state and scoring a critical hit to its head, Richter had been sure that it would have died in one blow. And what the fuck was a level thirty-four undead monster doing loitering around just outside of the boundaries of his village?
The koolari slammed into the ground. It had tumbled as it fell and one wing was snapped in multiple places upon impact. It lost another forty-three health. The battle continued to rage around him, and Richter was about to hit it with another arrow, but before he could draw another arrow back, Alma attacked. Her body glowed golden before latching onto the back of its head. The blue-white crystal began to flash with an inner light as she used Brain Drain.
Richter’s heart began to beat faster in panic. As soon as Alma latched on, the koolari overcame the Stun effect from Weak Lightning. The monster was ridiculously resilient. At the seventh rank, her Brain Drain was still too weak to incapacitate any creature over level thirty-one. The koolari began to reach back to pull the small dragonling off.
Before Richter could react, he noticed a small blue-white crystal floating near its head. The crystal flashed, and the creature’s body locked tight. Surprised, Richter used Analyze again and was astonished to see its health, mana, and stamina dropping at a prodigious rate. Her Brain Drain had never been so effective before. The chaos seed’s amazement grew as he read the battle prompts.
Richter hits Winged Koolari using Enhanced Imbue Arrow...
Winged Koolari resists Mind Fog.
Winged Koolari resists Stun.
Winged Koolari succumbs to Psi Crystallization.
Alma attacks Winged Koolari with Brain Drain! Presence of Level 1 Psi Crystal increases strength of all psychic attacks and powers by 100%.
That was how she had done it! Her ability to stun creatures had been doubled to potentially take out level sixty-two monsters! From the rate that the koolari’s health was falling, it also doubled the rate of her Brain Drain. His enhanced subskill was already proving its worth!
In no time at all, the winged koolari slumped to the ground, dead. Alma rose into the air, while a rainbow-colored ribbon of light swirled around her. The dragonling cried out her victory to the air while she went hunting for more prey.
More screams had echoed out in the night. The koolari, seeing that they were trapped and could no longer hide in the darkness, went on the attack. Guards and sprites alike cried out as talons raked their bodies. The warband was not helpless, however. Yoshi jumped high and sliced through the wing of a koolari that made the mistake of swooping too low. It fell to the ground and was quickly stabbed to death by other members of the war party. Two more had been brought down by well-placed, imbued arrows. As strong as the monsters were, once they were on the ground, they were easily overwhelmed by sheer numbers and hacked to death.
The battle went on for a few more minutes, but soon enough, all of the monsters were brought low. The last three tried vainly to escape after the rest of their pack was slaughtered, but they still couldn’t overcome the power of Hisako’s spell. Richter shouted that he wanted them alive, and one by one, imbued arrows struck their wings and forced them to the ground. After that, it was a relatively simple, if dangerous matter to shoot them until they were within inches of a true death. Alma would swoop in afterward and drain them, capturing their souls as well. Prompts filled Richter’s vision.
Know This! As a Battle Sergeant serving beneath a Battle Leader, you are entitled to keep 50% of the total War Points earned.
For slaying nine Winged Koolari, you have been awarded 22 (base 45 x 0.5) War Points!
Total War Points: 23.
You have been awarded 48,245 experience (base 1,102,749 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 34 Winged Koolari.
You have been awarded 38,330 experience (base 876,114 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 31 Winged Koolari.
You have been awarded 53,683 experience (base 1,227,036 x 0.07
x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 35 Winged Koolari.
You have been awarded 28,783 experience (base 657,900 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 28 Winged Koolari.
Congratulations! Your familiar has reached level 36.
Congratulations! Your familiar has reached level 37.
You have trapped the soul of a Winged Koolari! Soul level: Luminous. x 6
He was almost one hundred and seventy thousand points closer to paying back his experience deficit. Alma had also managed to level up twice! Fighting these high-level creatures was profitable… as long as you could ignore the “human” cost.
Moans of pain and cries for help echoed up from the wounded. Thankfully, there was no shortage of healers in the group. In addition to the village guardsmen, at least fifteen of the sprites from Hisako’s host had Life magic. That did not even take into account the Hearth Mother herself. Watching her was a true wonder. Without hesitation or squeamishness, Richter saw her push a woman’s intestines back into her body before uttering a spell. A few moments before, the guard had been at death’s door. Now, not only had the wound closed, but the villager was back on her feet and color had started to come back to her cheeks
Blood covered Hisako’s hands, face, and body, but she simply moved on to the next injured person. The sprites knew without being told to bring her the worst cases. Richter ran up and handed over three mana potions which she downed without comment and just continued healing. He drank one himself, eager to get his forces back to fighting shape as soon as possible.
The final count was nine dead, three of Hisako’s sprites and six guards, one of them an Air caster. There was also a wood sprite missing, telling the tale that at least one of the koolari had escaped before Hisako’s spell went up. The shield was dropped as soon as the last monster they could find was killed, but they still could find no trace of the poor sprite. Hisako looked around with a silent fury on her face that she would not even be able to honor her dead. She ordered the bodies of all of the dead gathered, enemy and ally alike.