“Dude! Is that even safe?”
“Spider cooked. Morogan hungry. Aba not eat spider?”
“I, uh, never had the opportunity.”
He tore off another piece and handed it to me. “Aba try.”
I wasn't sure what to think. It looked like burnt barbecued chicken. I took a small bite to test the waters. It actually tasted good. I took a bigger bite, enjoying it.
“See? Aba likes!” He grinned and tore into another piece.
“It’s like chicken but gamier.” I noticed a new icon and focused on it.
Poison Resistance 60% for 2 HRs
“Whoa! Did you see the resistance boost?”
“Morogan knows. Eat spider before. Aba not know?”
That made sense. “No, I guess not. I'm kind of new to adventuring. I have a lot to learn still.”
“Aba not worry. Morogan teach Aba.” He grinned. We walked farther into the forest to discover several more charred spiders. I found one particular carcass that caught my interest.
“Morogan, check this one out. Looks like it exploded. There are spider guts even on the trees.”
He looked around assessing the damage and trajectories. “Mage did this. Strong mage. Fire. Maybe mage rescue girl? Maybe mage steal girl?”
“Maybe. I'm not sure what to think now. Best keep on our guard either way.” Morogan nodded in agreement. We pushed farther into the forest. Spider carcasses littered the ground in every direction now. Whoever this mage was, they had some power behind them.
Morogan yelped suddenly then roared. Before I could finish turning around, I had my own issues to contend with. Bristly legs wrapped around me from behind, constricting my airway. Reaching back, I grabbed the leg and triggered Crushing Grip. A shrieking wail echoed throughout the forest as green goo exploded from my fingers as the appendage splintered under my grip. I threw the giant spider from my back and wiped my hand on my leather jacket.
A loud crunch and splat caught my attention. I turned to see Morogan lifting his foot, green goo and spider guts dripping from his boot. “Yuck. Morogan got spider gooeys on boots.”
Wailing echoed from every direction as scores of spiders lowered themselves from the canopy above us. We were completely surrounded. Morogan looked at me with a concerned expression.
Morogan’s battle roar joined my own, echoing throughout the forest as the spiders converged in unison. I willed power into my blade and Dashed and stunned as the cooldowns allowed. Occasionally, lightning would arc out from a spider as I cleaved it in two, each arc vaporizing several more spiders. We had killed several dozen critters, but their numbers seemed endless.
Morogan went down with six spiders on top of him. I had my own fan club pressing in around me and Dash was on cooldown. He roared in defiance. White light suddenly burst from his eyes, and an aura of energy enveloped his body. Muscle and bone stretched and elongated. Morogan easily threw the spiders off into a tree with sickly squelching sounds. Picking up his mace, he now stood at twelve feet tall. Veins and cords of muscle stood out from his green skin, making him resemble the Hulk, just a little bit. When he roared next, I felt it through my shoes. The spiders nearest him hesitated. He swung in a wide arc, smearing eight spiders with his mace.
While he smashed and splattered spiders like there was no tomorrow, I took advantage of the hesitation as well and returned to cleaving and vaporizing arachnids. Even still, we’d barely made a dent in their numbers. Morogan’s white aura faded, and he shrunk back to normal size.
A massive spider wail resonated off and through everything. The fighting stopped. The spiders nearest us backed away slowly, millions of eyes alert and wary. The biggest nightmare-fuel creature walked into view on eight massive hairy tree trunk limbs. Its footfalls could be felt through the ground. The spider was around ten feet tall and must have weighed over sixteen hundred pounds. I wasn't afraid of spiders, but this? Nope. This was too much.
“Where is my dog!” Scorching fire erupted in a wave around us. It pushed outward at an incredible speed. Spiders in a ring fifty feet away shriveled and died.
Morogan and I looked around and spotted a little girl wearing a flowery dress. Her long red hair blew in the wind. She showed no fear as she stomped toward the spider queen. The queen made a grunting noise, and a wave of spiders surged toward the little girl.
She lifted her hand toward the swarm. Hundreds of basketball-sized spiders turned instantly to ash, her eyes alight with rage as tears rolled down her cheeks. She turned back to the queen and resumed stomping toward her. She stopped a few feet short of the giant spider, just out of reach of her arms. “Where is my dog. Tell me or I'll cook you along with the whole forest.”
The queen stared her down. Then something even more creepy happened. She spoke. Well, hissed more than anything. “Little human, I do not fear you. I have feasted on mages ten times your better.”
Ashley looked up at the giant bug. “Last chance, Queenie.”
If the talking bug wasn't bad enough, what happened next would fill my nightmares for weeks to come. She laughed—and cackled maniacally.
Ashley's rage boiled over. Fire exploded all around her, bathing her in an aura of flame. The queen flinched at the brilliance of the light and took a step back. Ashley slowly lifted a hand toward the queen of spiders. A lance of fire shot toward the queen.
At the last second, the giant spider dodged more nimbly than I would have thought possible. It wasn't fast enough. Ashley’s fire lance detonated against one of the queen’s front legs. Bits exploded out as the leg shattered. Bone and chitin shrapnel cut into her side, and she screeched. Morogan and I both went to our knees, hands over our ears.
The queen of the spiders lurched forward, slashing with her undamaged arm. Morogan made it to Ashley before I could and kneeled next to her, covering them both with his shield. The sharp point of the appendage pierced the shield like a hot knife through butter, barely missing Morogan’s head. They both yelped as the shield was ripped away, leaving them with no cover. She reared back again
Her head rocked back as I nailed her forehead with a Dash-assisted stun from the pommel of my sword. Following the sword's momentum, I slashed upward and opened a gash across the hideous face. Dazed, the giant spider swayed. Taking advantage of the distraction, Morogan pulled Ashley to safety as I hacked and slashed at the monster's head. Green goo sprayed everywhere as bits were cut and sent flying. I didn't see one of her legs snap out, and it pounded me square in the chest. For a few seconds, I was flying. Then the tree broke my fall. Or me. I wasn’t entirely sure.
My vision swam. Through the tears clouding my vision, light bloomed bright and orange and yellow. Then the concussion wave hit me and knocked me on my ass. So now my ears were ringing, I was dazed and could barely see. This was going smooth.
Someone was helping me up when another flash hit my senses. Then another. The wailing shrill of the queen joined in the double detonation that followed. Something hard hit me across the face. And again.
“Aba!” Another blow brought me to my senses. “Aba, wake up or Morogan keep hitting!” I felt his body tense for another slap.
“Whoa, big guy, whoa! I'm here, mostly. What happened?” Morogan helped me to my feet. I drank one of my health vials. My health bar climbed to sixty percent.
“Aba kicked by big spider. Aba break tree!” He pointed at the splintered tree trunk, and my back winced in pain. “Ashley fight spider with fire, make Morogan head hurt.” Another concussive wave hit us, and I swayed a little.
“Wait. When did she get that fire blast spell?” I was still confused.
“Ashley level during fight. Ashley hurt spider. Maybe out of mana soon.”
“We have to help her.” Morogan nodded and tossed me my sword like it weighed nothing. I caught it by the pommel. I guess she hit me so hard Crushing Grip couldn't compensate.
Ashley saw us moving toward the target and gave us an opening by switching to spells to something less explosive. She had effectively kept t
he monster at bay while Morogan got my groggy ass out of the tree I had become one with.
I jumped up and triggered Dash mid-air and came down blade first, slashing a deep groove in the giant spider’s shoulder. Her leg came out again, but I managed to block it with my blade, severing it. The appendage flew off and embedded itself in a tree. Morogan nailed her in the head with his mace and then rammed his shoulder into her face like a football player. His shoulder armor spikes pierced eyes and flesh alike, and her wails turned to shrieks. Morogan managed to smash his shoulder into her face two more times before she knocked him to the ground.
A surge of movement caught our attention as waves of spiders closed in on us from all sides. Broken and bleeding, the queen retreated backward toward her hovel. We weren't in a position to give chase and finish her off under the circumstances. Fire, lightning, and brute force cleared our path to the edge of the forest. The spiders didn't follow. Morogan, of course, had himself another snack.
“Aba want spider?” he asked, mouth full of spider flesh.
“Uh, no thanks. I think I've had my fill of spiders for a lifetime.” Morogan laughed heartily, looked down at Ashley, and quieted down.
“The spiders ate my dog, didn't they?” She was looking down at her feet.
Morogan spoke first. “Dog not feel pain. Quick death. Not suffer. Morogan sorry.”
Ashley just sniffled, nodded, and collapsed. Morogan picked her up and carried her like a newborn in his arms. She instantly passed out from exhaustion.
“Aba. We save girl.” He said in a low, soft voice, a smile around his fangs.
“Yes. Yes, we did.” He was right. We did save her. I could get used to being a hero. We walked back to the village in silence, the sunset bathing us in an orange glow.
4
Flint, The Cunning
We arrived at the village an hour or so after dark. The villagers had gathered outside the inn, and torches and pitchforks and swords were raised in the air. The crowd was on edge, and Luther stood at the front enticing the crowd. “We already know that filthy Orc ate poor little Ashley! Are we going to let that stand!?”
“No! Kill the Orc!” screamed the crowd in unison. Mob mentality at its finest. Two could definitely play that game. I Dashed forward and nailed Luther in the stomach with the pommel of my sword. He clutched his stomach and bent forward, his breath knocked out of him. My knee connected with his face and laid him flat on his back. Once he was defenseless, I pointed the tip of the massive blade at his throat. He tried to struggle a little, so I let the weight of the sword slightly rest against his trachea, just enough to draw a small trickle of blood. The crowd quieted, tense with anticipation.
“Don’t. Move. A muscle.” I seethed in anger. Turning slightly to address the crowd, I raised my voice. “Look at yourselves.” I paused, lowering my voice just a little. “Ready to kill an innocent man simply because he's half-Orc!”
“But he killed the girl!” yelled one villager, sword gripped tight. The crowd yelled in agreement, thirsty for blood.
Morogan walked from behind a building, Ashley riding on his shoulders. Pointing toward them, I yelled back at the man, “You mean that little girl? She looks whole and alive to me.” The crowd gasped and cleared a path as Morogan joined me and helped Ashley to the ground. “Morogan is responsible for saving little Ashley. All of you should have been searching for her instead of forming a lynch mob to condemn an innocent, whose only crime is that he’s a half-breed!” I lowered my voice a little bit. “You should all be ashamed.” I returned my sword to my back.
Ashley, who had been paying attention this whole time, casually walked up to Luther, who was now sitting up. She bent down and lowered her voice almost to a whisper so the gathered masses couldn't hear her. “If you ever try to hurt Morogan again, I swear to the Caretaker, I'll conjure a fire blast in your guts and kill you myself. Coward.” She turned and stomped off in search of her father, leaving Luther stunned, his face having drained of color. He knew she meant it.
As we entered the inn, Etta waved us over. “There’s another letter for ya. It came in earlier today while you were out.”
Abalonious,
It has come to my attention that two of the cutthroats may have stayed behind in Pinewood Village. Tread carefully.
Garstil, The Arcane
I thanked her and ordered some food and ales for both Morogan and myself. I was about to pay when someone hollered from the door.
“Stay your coin purse, Abalonious.” Stephen Magnus entered the doorway. “It would be my honor to pay.” He took up an empty stool at the bar. “Etta, the usual for me, please.”
“Thanks, we appreciate it. Running a bit low on coin.”
Stephen pulled out a small satchel. “Here, let me fix that for you. This is for saving my little girl.”
I took the outstretched satchel and received a new notification.
Missing Persons Report: Quest Complete!
Received Items: 500 silver, Ring of amplify Fire Magic, 500 XP
Stephen Magnus smiled. You boys earned it. That ring was my departed wife's. She was a pretty good mage in her time, not much use for it now with her gone.”
“Thank you for the coin, Stephen, but I can’t accept this ring. You should give it to Ashley.”
Stephen looked confused. “Ashley? Why? She doesn't know any magic.”
“Actually, she's quite the badass little fire mage. Had it not been for her, all three of us would be spider food right now.” I handed him the ring. “I think this would make her even more powerful. And those spiders might come back some day.”
Stephen pocketed the ring, still a bit taken back. “Well, I'll be…” Our food arrived, and the three of us dug in.
Morogan caught the innkeeper’s attention, “Etta make good food. Morogan like!”
Etta smiled. “Thanks, hon.”
“So.” Stephen turned toward us. “What will you boys do now?”
Morogan looked over, curious. “Well, we are headed to the city of Bridgeport to meet a friend and track down some cutthroats. Not sure where we’ll go after that.” I’d noticed two gruff-looking guys in the corner paying a little too much attention to our conversation, so I kept details bare. Then I had a thought. “We’ll probably leave town just before dawn.” I made sure I said it just loud enough so they could hear me but not obvious that it was my intention.
Mr. Magnus nodded slowly. “Any chance I can trouble you for one more favor?”
“Sure, name it. What do you need done?
He dug around in his pocket for a few moments before pulling out a small burlap sack. “This is ground heal root and some other herbs used for making curative salves and healing potions. Please take them to my mother, Mary Magnus, in Bridgeport. When you get there, she will be the old woman sitting on a blanket in the town square. You'll know her when you see her. She's sick and unable to care for her maladies. Unfortunately, she refuses to move here where I can care for her.”
I accepted the sack and the quest popup. “I'll see that she gets it as soon as we arrive.” We traded grips.
“Thank you, safe travels to you both.” He turned and headed for the door. “Oh, one other thing. Ashley would like it if you two would visit again sometime.”
“Count on it,” I replied. Morogan added in his own agreement.
After finishing up our food, we headed for the stairs. We both grumbled as we climbed the staircase, our bodies aching all over. We had rented the two largest rooms across from each other, both with hot baths in them. We discussed the possible happenings of the next morning and then headed for bed.
“Good night, Morogan, enjoy the hot bath. I know I will.”
“Morogan enjoy until water cold. Then sleep like rock.”
The distant sounds of the inn faded to background noise as I closed my door and made for the promised heaven that was the steamy tub in front of me.
Morogan and I ate a quick breakfast at the inn and left Pinewood Village just before dawn.
We were about a quarter mile past the protective walls when we noticed there were other people on the road. Two ahead of us a ways and one behind. We continued on toward the group as if we hadn't noticed. As the runner behind us neared, the two in front started to walk toward us and drew their weapons. Just as I’d suspected last night. These guys meant to rob us. Or worse. They came into earshot casually.
“Morning, gents, are you sure you want to do this?” I recognized one of them from the path a few days before. I pointed at him. “You remember what happened last time? Or did you forget already?”
The one familiar to me sneered, “Naw, I remembers ya. But Slag put a two thousand silver bounty on your head. Flint wants that silver sumthin’ bad, I do. Seems every cutthroat in the countryside gon want a piece of your ass.”
“Wow, two thousand!” I looked at Morogan, feigning utter shock. “Did you know these guys could count that high?”
Morogan chuckled. “Morogan not know.” He shrugged.
The cutthroat was turning red. I put my hand on the hilt of my sword. “You sure this is worth your lives? You've already lost two idiots to my blade.”
“Naw, this time, it’ll be diff’rent, ya prick.” He readied his attack. Behind us, their friend had almost caught up, and everyone's tension was obvious in their body language.
A massive concussion wave blew our clothes around and showered everyone with dust, dirt, and gravel. A body landed next to us in a slide, leaving ruts in the dirt road as smoke rose from the unmoving body. Somehow, he still drew breath. All four of us turned to look back at the village. Atop the wall stood a pillar of flame, lighting up part of the horizon.
Little Ashley had blasted the ground in front of a moving target from a quarter mile away with a concussive lance. Damn. One day, that girl would be unstoppable. I turned to Flint and his remaining friend.
Legend of the Sword Bearer: Tempest Chronicles Book 1 Page 4