by Aleron Kong
All ten of the sprites had fired imbued arrows at once. The bugbears had slain Alma’s charmed pet, but they were still in close proximity to one another. Before they could disperse, the sprites used their racial attack to turn the bugbears into kibble. Each had infused mana into their shots for at least five seconds and then upon Kenzo’s command, they let loose hell.
The imbued arrows caused massive damage upon the individual targets they struck, but the damage reinforced itself. The waves of force built upon one another in something sprites called a ‘Death Lotus.’ The bodies of the bugbears were buffeted about by the shockwaves causing secondary damage, and in more than half, internal bleeding ensued. The few that escaped instant death were seriously wounded and were effectively out of the fight.
The raider was fighting two bugbears and had received a deep cut in the thigh that greatly hampered his movement. The Ranger had used another Talent, Entangling Shot. The arrow struck a bugbear and immediately tendrils spread out from where the arrow struck. They wrapped around the bugbear and then dove into the ground, rooting the goblinoid in place. Another expenditure of mana made the bow glow white as the Ranger activated the Talent, Hawkeye. The Ranger shot directly at one of the villagers trading blows with a bugbear. Though the risk of hitting the villager was high, the arrow flew true. It whistled over the right shoulder of the mailed villager and struck his enemy in the neck. The bugbear reeled back in pain and shock. The villager took the opportunity to strike a low blow. His sword entered the bugbear’s thigh near the groin, severing a major artery. The hairy fighter fell with a cry and blood poured freely onto the ground.
Another of the villagers was down, bleeding from a stab wound high in his right chest. He was pressing his hand against the wound to staunch the blood loss, but it was a lost cause until Alma swooped above him and cast Slow Heal. The villager who had been stabbed in the neck was unconscious, and the Air mage cast Glitterdust again. Two nearby bugbears cursed in her direction, but were blinded for a short period.
Richter had started running towards his villagers in the vain hope that he could save one of the two. As he ran closer he started a casting, three seconds later, black energy writhed down his arm and started circling the bugbears fighting his raider. Because of the ebb and flow of the fight, his charmed pet was caught in the AoE of the Dark spell as well. The two bugbears he had been fighting succumbed, but the raider himself resisted. Unfortunately, casting Troubled Sleep constituted an attack and broke the Charm enchantment. Richter now had a fight on his hands with a six foot four muscle bound killer who absolutely hated him!
Intermittent bangs sounded all around him as the sprites continued their ranged fight against the remaining bugbears. Richter didn’t have time to observe the effects of the barrage, he was just trying to stay alive. Enraged, the bugbear raider swung his warhammer in a punishing across the body attack. Richter knew that there was no blocking such a vicious attack. In the split seconds he had to react, he ducked low and bent his knees. Richter was almost in a full curtsy before the bugbear when he heard the hammer whistle above his head!
He didn’t lose his center of balance, though. In his left hand he held the high steel short sword Krom had made for him. Still bent low, he attacked with the sword form, Reaping Wheat. His sword cut towards the raider at shin height, but was stopped by his opponent’s greaves.
The raider reached out to push Richter as he stood up, hoping to knock the chaos seed onto his back. Richter’s increased Agility had done more than just increase his ability to spring however! Without fighting the powerful shove, Richter’s body almost instinctually aided the movement by a performing small jump. Then, all that was required was a small flexing of his back and he committed to a back handspring! One hand connected with the earth ever so briefly, the other still holding his short sword, and with a slight push his momentum carried him back to his feet facing his enemy but now with ten feet of space between them!
The raider snarled again and took a step towards Richter with his hammer half raised, but the Lord of the Mist Village remembered the words of Ra’s al Ghul, ‘This is not a dance!’ Richter dropped his sword and channeled the power for his spell down both arms simultaneously. The word of power resisted his attempts to speak it for the briefest of moments, as if his mouth was filled with thick honey, but his will prevailed! Both wrists came together unbidden as red bands of power swept down his forearms, along his hands and manifested as a spear of pure orange flame that struck the bugbear full in the face!
The raider had managed another one and half steps, decreasing the distance between them to a meager five feet. One more step and Richter would have been within range of his hammer! Once the gout of fire reached him however, the raider’s senses all shut off except for one... pain. A howl of agony accompanied the smell of burning hair and cooked meat as Richter’s dual casting of Flame enveloped the head and upper chest of the bugbear. The fire burned much hotter than even Richter had expected, his practicing having increased the fiery output. As one of the bugbear’s eyes popped from the extreme heat, Richter’s mana dropped at a prodigious rate, but he didn’t stop the attack until his enemy had fallen to both knees, the hammer dropped and forgotten.
After maintaining the punishing attack for long seconds, Richter finally released his horrible will, and the entwined ropes of flames faded from existence. He was light headed from his mana being nearly being depleted, but his enemy was upon death’s door. He drew his longsword from his back, searching for other enemies, but all of the bugbears were either dead or disabled. The one exception was his charmed Ranger whom the sprites were now sighting upon.
“Stop!” Richter called out. He made eye contact with Kenzo, and said, “He’s under my control. We can question him! Any that are left alive, just disarm and leave for me!” The sprite captain quickly got his troops under control. To aid the situation, Richter quickly commanded the Ranger to divest all of his arms and armor before running over to his villagers. He heard a cry of brutal pleasure from Alma as she descended upon the burnt raider to drain away his few remaining points of life.
When he reached his people, only one was still standing, the gnome mage. The elf who had been stabbed in the neck had never regained his feet. There was another stab wound in his chest. Two other villagers were down with stab wounds in their chest and abdomen, one was screaming in pain and the other was unconscious. The fourth was moaning on the ground, his leg protruding at a strange angle.
Richter downed two mana potions and quickly ran up to the elf with the neck wound, but saw that blood no longer pulsed from the wound. The man’s left eye was half lidded and the other stared sightlessly up into the sky. The villager was beyond his ability to help. Alma flew up behind having finished her meal and he ordered her to cast Slow Heal on one of the bleeding villagers. He went to the unconscious one. Casting Slow Heal, Richter tried to wake his patient, but to no avail. Blood still leaked from his wounds. Not knowing what else to do, he cast the new spell Fumiko had taught him, Summon Weak Life Wisp.
Three seconds later, a golden ball of light sprang into existence and then sank into the chest of unconscious man. Richter saw that the chest wound was finally closing, and though the villager had not woken up, his breathing eased. A quick glance showed that Alma had already stabilized the other villager. Richter handed him a health potion and then walked over to the man with the broken leg. The aeromage had made her way over to the man and was giving him what comfort she could. That wasn’t much when compared to the shard of shin bone sticking out of his leg.
Richter analyzed both of the villagers to recall their names. He looked at his injured villager, “We are going to take care of you, Phorin.”
Phorin opened a bleary eye and looked at Richter, “Thank you, my Lord.”
Richter reached into his Bag and pulled out a healing herb and healing potion, “Take these. This next part isn’t going to be fun.” Richter ordered the aeromage, Drissa, to hold the man’s leg in place. Then, looking Phori
n in the eye, he waited until the villager had quaffed the potion and was chewing the waterthread, then set the leg. Pushing on the bone shard with one hand, he pulled down on Phorin’s ankle with the other. Richter was able to get the fractured bones back into the man’s leg to the sensation of bones grinding together. Phorin screamed and lost consciousness, a piece of waterthread still hanging out of his mouth. Without an X-ray, Richter couldn’t be sure that the tibia and fibula had lined up, but it should be sufficient until he could get the man back to Sumiko.
That done he looked at Drissa, “You did well, but what the hell were you all doing outside of the mists? It’s only dumb luck that you’re not all dead!”
The gnome hung her head slightly, “I know, my Lord. Captain Terrod told us not to leave the mists, but we were hunting a dire wolf. It had been coming closer and closer to the village. Hurid,” she said pointing at the dead archer, “convinced us to follow its tracks even when it left the mists.” She started to sob, “I can’t believe he’s dead!”
Richter placed his arm around her shoulders. “We will bring him back with us, and bury him at home. Stay with Phorin for now. There is still work to be done.”
The mage tearfully nodded and Richter stood up. Walking over to Kenzo, he asked the sprite, “So what’s our status?”
“We didn’t lose anyone except for your man over there. Two of my people suffered minor injuries, but they can move. I’m going to send my soldiers out to search the area.”
“Did any of the bugbears get away?” Richter asked. He immediately started searching the periphery.
“Not that we saw, but it wouldn’t be the first time they had positioned a soldier away from the battle for the express purpose of reporting back to his main group.”
“Okay,” Richter said relaxing somewhat. I need every bugbear that is left alive brought over. I plan to kill them all. I trust you won’t have a problem with that?”
“They may have valuable information,” Kenzo objected.
“That one over there,” Richter said pointing at his charmed bugbear, “is a Professed Ranger. He will most likely have more information than any of these common fighters. You can question him for the next thirty minutes. I don’t want to stay in the open any longer than that, and besides, the enchantment will wear off. In the meantime, I’ll need your people to help make a stretcher for one of my villagers. Does that work for you?”
Kenzo nodded. Richter ordered the ranger over and told him to answer any and all questions that Kenzo posed. The sprites had brought over five bugbears that were still alive. Two were the ones caught in Richter’s Troubled Sleep spell, another two were unconscious and didn’t appear long for this world. The fifth was actively fighting and cursing, but was bound and had been dragged forward by three sprites. Richter walked forward and hit him behind the ear with a pommel strike. The bugbear’s body slumped somewhat, and he just lay on the ground. Soft sobs started to come from the captive and he pleaded for his life in the bugbear language.
Richter looked at the bugbear, disgusted. The problem was, Richter wasn’t sure if the disgust was targeted at himself or the sentient being pleading for his life. A quick mental order later and Alma latched onto the head of the bound bugbear. The sobs cut off and her victim’s body was afflicted with intense seizures. His familiar was not afflicted with any of her master’s moral qualms. Richter turned away and left her to her feast.
He walked over to the ranger’s gear.
You have found: Stone Lizard Hide Helmet. Durability 26/28. Type: Light armor. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 2.0 kg.
You have found: Stone Lizard Hide Breastplate. Defense +13. Type: Light armor. Durability 65/65. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 7.2 kg.
You have found: Stone Lizard Hide Armbands. Defense +7. Type: Light armor. Durability 53/55. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 3.6 kg.
You have found: Stone Lizard Hide Gloves. Defense +8. Type: Light armor. Durability 37/39. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 1.9 kg.
You have found: Stone Lizard Hide Trousers. Defense +7. Type: Light armor. Durability 36/37. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight 4.1 kg.
You have found: Stone Lizard Hide Boots. Defense +7. Type: Light armor. Durability 31/34. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight 2.1 kg.
Congratulations! You have obtained an entire set of matched armor: Stone Lizard Armor. Defense given by each piece increased by 25%. Special Bonus: Defense vs animal attacks increased by a further 20%.
You have found: Magic Bow. Durability 48/51. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 3.3 kg.
You have found: Steel Arrows. Quantity 36. Durability 5/5. Item class: Common. Quality: Average.
You have found: Moonstone Short Sword. Durability 61/64. Item Class: Common. Quality: Superb. Weight: 3.2 kg.
You have found: Magic Steel Dagger. Durability 29/32. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 1.2 kg.
You have found: Ring of Health. Durability 6/8. Item Class: Common. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.01 kg. Traits: +27 Health.
You have found: Ring of Stamina. Durability 9/9. Item Class: Common. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.01 kg. Traits: +29 Stamina.
You have found: Magic Whistle. Durability 12/12. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight: 0.01 kg.
You have found: Health Potion. Durability 6/6. Potion Level: Solution. Strength: Basic. Weight 0.01 kg. Will restore 54 health points over 5 seconds.
You have found: Pouch.
Richter admired the Ranger’s armor. The hide was a dark gray-green in color. It was smooth to the touch, but it was pebbled with irregular small knobs. It was remarkably supple and yet was heavier than he would have thought. The bugbear had really had some great defense! Again, Richter was so pleased that he had enchanted the man at the start of the battle! If the Ranger had been fighting against him, at the very least, the loss of life would have been much worse! The pouch just contained a few odd coins that Richter pocketed.
He walked over to his villagers and cast Slow Heal again on the villager with the abdominal wound. The man thanked him, and Richter promised his people he would come back in a few minutes to cast the spell again. He cast a regretful glance at the slain villager, then walked back over to where three of the sprites were dragging the bugbear bodies. They were all being stripped of equipment which was set to the side. Richter asked if they had any need of it, but one of the sprites shook her head. Richter began sorting through it and placing anything of value into his Bag. There were no magical items, but there were plenty of weapons and armor that Krom should be able to adapt for the villagers to use. His Bag was seriously heavy when he was done, but he was able to retrieve a massive amount of gear.
He walked back over to his villagers again, this time casting Slow Heal on Phorin. Then he walked over to Kenzo and the Ranger.
“Have you gotten what you needed?” Richter asked
“More than you know!” Kenzo replied. “This one,” he said indicating the Ranger, “is a captain in the bugbear invasion force. He knows about troop movements, defenses of their base and its exact position!”
“How many bugbears are we facing?” Richter asked
Kenzo’s expression became sober, “More than a thousand, and more are still coming.”
Richter nodded, his expression equally grim, “Do you need anything else from him?” His question was laden with obvious meaning.
Kenzo hesitated a moment, and then shook his head. Richter summoned Alma over to hover above his head. He then reached into his Bag and pulled out his Traveler’s Map. He had the Ranger point out the location of the bugbear camp. He zoomed in twice to be absolutely sure that he knew where the encampment was then he told the bugbear to kneel. Richter drew his short sword, and gave a mental command. Alma descended upon the kneeling bugbear who started screaming as his mind was ripped apart. Richter then plunged his short sword
through the bugbear’s body, into the heart, and out through the chest. A sharp twist worsened the already massive internal damage, and the Ranger died before his body even hit the ground. An exultant Alma flew off into the air, shrieking over her victory.
CHAPTER 22
They burned the bodies of the bugbears. Richter used the cape of the one of the bugbears as a burial shroud, and carried the body over his shoulder. Phorin turned out to be able to hobble along on an impromptu crutch after being healed two more times. The party started forward towards home, battered and bloodied, but barring one tragic exception, still alive.
The villagers thanked Richter and the sprites profusely for their help. Every one of them had thought they had seen their last day when the bugbears had started their taunting distraction. Richter just kept walking. Now was not the time for criticism, but it was clear that tighter control needed to be exerted on his people. The dead body on his shoulder would not be there if this group had just remained inside of the mists. It occurred to him that he didn’t even know the man’s name and Analyze wouldn’t work now that he had died. A question to Drissa supplied the answer though, Barden.
The sun was down well before they reached the mists, but Richter was able to light the way with his magic. Despite the fact that everyone was exhausted, no one wanted to stop before reaching the safety of the village. Their pace was seriously slowed by his villager with the broken leg, but he didn’t complain once, so they just slowly trudged onwards.
They walked well into the night until they finally reached the mists. Once they did, Richter summoned two mist workers, one to carry Barden’s body and the other to carry the hobbled villager. The man complained slightly at being picked up, but quieted when he saw the look on Richter’s face. The chaos seed was just ready to be home! To further that end, he gave immunity to Kenzo and five other sprites. The captain sent the rest of his people back to the Hearth Tree to share a detailed report of the intelligence he had gained from the Ranger. The rest of the party continued onward.