by Tao Wong
“Ba’al,” Hjalmar swore, raising his bow and drawing the arrow back. A hand rested on his cheek as he exhaled. The Adventurer was one of many who tensed and readied themselves for the impending charge.
“Hold!” Tula’s whispered words froze the group. The Ranger was one of the few who had not raised her bow. In fact, the Ranger took a step forwards, meeting the gaze of the pack fearlessly as they refocused on the Ranger.
As Daniel’s wagon rolled up the next hill, fast taking him outside of view of the group, the Adventurer reluctantly turned away from the confrontation behind him. As the new lead, Daniel knew that it was up to him to ensure they did not just run into another group of monsters. Teeth clenched, Daniel scanned the area in front of him, searching for problems.
It was an agonizing wait as the caravan made its way past the Spligo. Caravan after caravan, they crested the hill before passing out of sight of the monsters. Impatient, Daniel would look behind at times, counting the number of caravans, straining his ears for the signs of battle.
Minutes turned into an hour, Daniel relaxing when he realised that there was no sign of pursuit. But the Healer could not relax entirely as Tula did not return to take her spot scouting ahead. In time, Sava rode forwards, gesturing for Grey to find a clearing. In the clearing, the caravan drivers took the short rest to water and groom their horses, checking on their loads and ensuring nothing had shifted.
“Sava?” Daniel called out to caravan master when he still could not see Tula.
“Yes, Adventurer Chai?” Sava said, turning away from handling a problem with a carriage driver.
“Tula?”
“The Ranger is behind us. She wanted to ensure the Spligo were truly letting us go,” Sava said.
“We’re waiting for her?” Daniel said.
“Of course,” Sava said.
Relieved, Daniel took to the road while Craig ordered the remainder of the group around. In about fifteen minutes, a short camouflage-wearing figure appeared, loping at a ground-eating pace towards the group. Daniel exhaled, feeling the tension in his body disappearing as his teammate arrived.
That went as well as could be expected. If not better. Maybe having a Ranger on-hand really did make a difference.
Chapter 7
“UP! Up, you damn Adventurers. To arms!”
The roar shot Daniel out of his bedroll, his hand immediately closing on his enchanted hammer. Daniel rolled to his feet, his other hand scrambling for the straps of his shield even as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. He had just fallen asleep, his turn on night watch done. Or, it had at least felt just a few minutes ago, though from the way the logs in the fire had burnt down, it might had been a little longer.
“Where?” Daniel called, head turning as he searched for the monsters.
“South,” Uppulu said. The spear wielder slapped a brooch pinned to his side, and Daniel watched as a light glow of blue surrounded the man. He took off after his actions, heading for the grunts and growls that Daniel now recognised were coming from that direction.
Up on his feet, Daniel started moving forwards and found Rob and Asin joining him. A few seconds later, Craig joined up with the majority of his people. A pair of arrows flew above their heads, disappearing into the darkness.
“Vivian, light!” Craig called out orders. “Daniel, form your team up and take the left. We’ll take the right.”
A flare of light illuminated their surroundings, allowing Daniel to see the carnage ahead of him. A pair of the caravan guards were standing beside Omrak and Uppulu, holding off their attackers—a pack of Spligo. Even as the light illuminated the air, Daniel could see how Omrak bled from his sides as he twisted to dodge a grasping tongue and sliced at another. The floppy, slimy mass bled from numerous cuts, but even a full-strength blow by the Northerner did not manage to sever the ropy mass of elastic muscle.
Another arrow flashed and caught one of the Spligo in the side of its mouth, pinning the folded back portion of its snout to its body. It howled, shaking its head and tongue, causing the writhing tentacle to miss. But the damage was not lethal, and the Spligo took advantage of the newly illuminated surroundings to spread out, away from the defenders.
“Omrak’s poisoned,” Daniel said in realisation. In fact, as he watched how a guard stumbled as he was dragged forwards and out of the impromptu shield wall, the entire group of defenders were. “Asin. You’re in charge. I need to heal them!”
“Yes.” The pair darted further to the left, Asin pulling a knife from her shoulder holster and tossing it at the first Spligo to make itself a target. The knife exploded into numerous copies as Asin triggered Fan of Knives, the glinting, sparking knives stunning the creature as the electric damage from her aura passed through it as her knives landed. A second later, a pair of enchanted spikes rammed into the creature from the sky, dropping the Spligo to its knees.
“Minor Healing,” Daniel intoned as he raced towards the guards. The first wash of power, formed from the spell formula within his mind, shot out from his hand and hit the most severely injured of the guards. The healing was unfortunately timed however, the sudden burst of energy causing the guard to miss an attack as his short sword smashed into the ground.
“Damn it,” Daniel snarled. But he had no time for this. Closing in on the line, Daniel slapped a hand on Omrak’s back as he channeled a Healer’s Mark into the Northerner’s bigger body. At the same time, he extended his Gift into the man’s body as he searched for the poison. Before Daniel could get a firm grip on the issue, Omrak strode forwards and broke contact, the Northerner’s sword flashing out to sever the tongue tentacle that dragged the guard forward.
“Omrak…” Daniel snarled. But this was not the time to be concerned about things like that. By the side, Craig and the rest of his team outnumbered the Spligo who had attempted to flank the group on that side. As he entered battle, Craig triggered a Skill, stomping down hard with his lead foot and causing a ripple of power to flow out from the earth. It forced the Spligo to stumble, allowing Bjarne to swing his glowing blue weapon down and kill one of the monsters. Sumuhan strode forwards with his maul, ignoring a grasping tongue to close on his opponent and smash it into the ground. And from behind the group, Hjalmar somehow appeared, a pair of long knives digging into one monster’s back just behind its jaws and nearly severing the head as his hands flashed.
Daniel turned away from that group, realising they did not need his help. On the opposite side, Rob had thrown out a pair of his enchanted ice orbs, creating a pair of angled ice walls that hampered the monster’s approach. From above, arrows whistled and glowed before they struck the trapped monsters. Elisa’s enchanted arrows seemed to burrow and burn as they struck while Tula’s just multiplied, adding to the injuries of the group. But it was only Asin holding the group off, her pair of long daggers held before her as she defended the only exit.
“Damn it…” Daniel hesitated, torn between helping the Catkin and finishing his healing. He watched as Omrak had another strip of flesh torn from his arm, and the remaining guard stumbled to one knee, unable to stand further.
Even as he hesitated, the remaining caravan guards streamed in from behind. A few joined Daniel, the others Asin. As help arrived, it allowed Daniel a chance to move over to the original downed guard and drag him back while sending his Gift questing through the guard’s body.
“Healer’s Mark,” Daniel muttered. He did not need to say the words, but in the confusion, Daniel did not have the time to care. Muttering the name allowed Daniel to focus his mind, trigger the spell formula, and force his Mana to flow in the manner it needed to cast the spell. At the same time, his Gift located the poison.
“Ugh…” Daniel shook his head, letting the man go after he finished pulling the body behind the new front lines. He eyed the battle again as he wiped his bloody hands on the ground, fingers already tingling from contact with the paralytic. As Daniel looked around, he realised that with the majority of the guard arri
ved, the fight had grown one-sided. Rather than join the battle, Daniel shifted his attention to healing the other guard. It was the least he could contribute.
“I told you to bring your people to the left,” Craig said, standing before Daniel after the battle had been completed. The older Adventurer had dragged Daniel aside, behind a nearby caravan as he berated the healer.
“Omrak and the guards were falling,” Daniel protested. “I thought it best to heal them.”
“They only had to hold a short while more. If you had listened to me, we could have pinned the Spligo and finished them all. Instead, we’ve got the remnants of the pack running around,” Craig said. “What good did your healing do?”
“Not much,” Daniel admitted. “The poison just reapplies itself with a normal healing spell. Healer’s Mark helps, but…”
“But it takes too long. I know,” Craig said as he snarled. “That’s why I wanted the Spligo dead. Your hammer would have been more useful.”
“I know that now,” Daniel said. If he had known the paralytic was not something he could heal easily, he might not have made the same decision. His Gift was not something he could use in the midst of combat. It required him to work intricate, microscopic changes in a body. It was part of the reason why it was so powerful—but it also required him to focus and keep constant contact. Anything beyond a quick assessment was outside of Daniel’s ability. At least, presently.
“Then, let me remind you. I am in charge. You listen to my orders,” Craig said. “Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Daniel said, ducking his head.
“Good. Now, I’ve got a damn Ranger to set straight,” Craig said as he turned.
“Set straight?” Tula said, appearing from the shadows. The Ranger in her dark camouflage outfit seemed to just appear from the darkness as she walked over. “About what?”
“I told you we should have killed them,” Craig said, glaring at her. “Your indecision nearly got someone killed.”
“You think so, do you?” Tula said emotionlessly.
“I know so.”
“Follow me,” Tula said and walked past the group. The Ranger brought the group towards the centre of the encampment where the drivers and Adventurers had the Spligo trussed up. “This the group you wanted me to attack?”
“Yes,” Craig said.
“Count.”
“What?”
“Count how many there are,” Tula said. Craig, gaining an inkling of what was about to happen, tightened his lips but still turned to regard the trussed up corpses which were being skinned and butchered.
“Eleven,” Craig said.
“How many adults?”
“Seven. Four children,” Craig said. “And before you ask, there was at least another eight that escaped.”
“Yes,” Tula said and turned to look at Craig. She still spoke with the same monotone as she continued. “Not the same pack.”
“Yes,” Craig said, lips compressed before he sighed and bowed his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Accepted. I was surprised too,” Tula admitted. “There are too many Spligo packs. Someone has not been doing their job keeping this road clear.”
“Could it be a migration?” Daniel asked.
“No. Spligo only travel when the food is scarce,” Tula said. “Two packs with adults of this size indicate that a pack must have survived all summer last year.”
“The local Guild should have been informed. And the local Lord. But there were no notices,” Craig said, traces of anger in his voice.
Daniel winced and added checking route notices to the list of things he needed to do when taking on an expedition. It made sense, but it was not something that he had thought to do.
“I shall send a second notice when it is light,” Tula said, gesturing around the still-buzzing campfire. “You should deal with this.”
After the attack, no one seemed inclined to sleep. In the corner where the fight had happened, the wives of a pair of caravan guards stood, hands held out towards the blood-soaked ground. As they channeled their Skills, the blood and viscera floated and gathered into a ball in their hands before being deposited in a pail.
“Of course.” Craig looked around and then, spotting Daniel, pointed at the healer. “Check if there are any additional injuries. Don’t bottom your Mana out, but we should set up a rotating healing schedule.” Daniel nodded but Craig was already stalking away in search of others to order around.
“You okay?” Daniel said, looking over to Tula who had let out a loud exhalation when Craig left.
“It’s what we do,” Tula said, the Ranger looking down at her feet for a time before she sighed. “But thank you for asking. Now, I need to speak with Sava.”
Daniel nodded, watching the short Ranger head off. The healer shook his head and then turned away, searching for the aid station where he made his way over. To his surprise, Sumuhan was running the aid station along with one of the guards—working cloths, boiling water, and adding alcohol on wounds before wrapping them up with some pressed leaves.
“Ah, healer!” Sumuhan said. “Good. I have no stitched wounds close. If you have enough Mana…”
“I do,” Daniel said. His eyes danced over the group, assessing damage before he moved to those most injured, laying on hands to begin casting Healer’s Mark. The skill would heal forty-four hit points over the course of half an hour, patching the worse wounds together. For an experienced Adventurer like Daniel, it was only a fifth of his body’s level-buffed health. But for the lower level guards, it would fix at least a fifth to a quarter of their health. In some cases, Daniel knew, he would have to cast the spell again, but none were in immediate danger.
When Daniel was done and had ordered more food to be brought over for the ravenous group of healing folk, he turned his attention to one of the sleeping figures. Laying a hand on the man’s arm, he sent his Gift in to reassess the poison that still lingered in the body.
The poison itself was a foreign substance, an intruder in the body. It numbed muscle and slowed nerves, even as the flow of blood pulled and shuttled the poison to the liver where the organ broke the poison down. As an organic poison, the body could extract the poison in time, but it would take… four hours or so in this guard’s case.
Good enough. Now that he had a better idea and feel for the poison, Daniel knew he could cleanse it from his own body with his Gift. Or, if he needed to, someone else’s body. Though, considering his desire to keep his Gift secret, he would prefer to avoid that. For now, at least. Opening his eyes, Daniel removed his hand, only to be surprised by a new sight.
Skill Gained!
Poison Identification: Level 1 (02/100) +2
“Huh…” Daniel said. Well. That might be useful.
“Daniel, come. Eat!” Omrak called from his seat beside the fire. The big Northerner was sprawled out next to the fire, one leg bandaged and extended as he scoffed down a stick of meat. “The Spligo are quite good. Naturally spicy!”
“That’s the counter-poison in the body actually,” Elisa said, grinning up at the blond Northerner. “The Beastkin pay good money for the glands.”
By Elisa’s side, Asin was nodding her head as she chewed on a stick as well, rubbing at a wound on her arm at times. Work done, at least for now, Daniel joined his friends. It seemed that no one was going to be getting any sleep tonight.
Chapter 8
In the morning the group broke camp, tired and yawning drovers and Adventurers taking to the road again. Just before the group left, Tula reappeared and spoke to both Sava and Craig in whispered tones. The group looked grim at whatever Tula said, but they did not share the knowledge with the rest of the caravan.
Instead, Tula strode over to the main road and released a trio of folded paper birds, the courier spells embedded within the messenger notes homing in on the Guild signature. From prior discussion, Daniel knew that this each paper cost a silver each. Before, Tula had used one of the many courie
r pigeons the caravan had brought to inform the local Guild about the initial pack of Spligo, but this time, it seemed that the Ranger was serious.
Over the next two days, the caravan caught sight of one other Spligo pack. This was the largest pack, with over nineteen members in all. The pack was lazing in a burrow-filled field, the alpha and other members of the pack standing and watching the trundling caravan on the road. Whether it was due to the bountiful food that the field offered or the distance, the distant pack chose not to follow the group, nor did Craig suggest it either.
Having rotated out of the lead position, Daniel was seated in the centre on a barrel with Uppulu, the dark-skinned Adventurer carefully working the edge of his spear with a whetstone. Rather than listen to the grating slide of stone and steel for another hour, Daniel spoke.
“What’s going to happen to the Spligo?” Daniel said.
“Three packs, all birthing? If left unchecked, an outbreak. Soon, they’ll have eaten or driven everything away and will attack the nearest village,” Uppulu said. “A kill bounty will be placed on them. And the Guild will investigate the local Guild chapter.”
“I don’t understand how it could get this bad,” Daniel said, lips compressing. “They must have realised this would happen.”
“It might not be their fault,” Uppulu said. “Just because a bounty is available does not mean Adventurers will take it. Or are allowed to take it.”
“But that’s what the local Lord is for, isn’t it?” Daniel said. “He offers a bounty increase to attract Adventurers. Or deal with it himself with his personal guard.”