by Jez Cajiao
One was close, where I’d entered the hold, and the other was a dozen or so meters further down the hold. I guessed that was where the attacks had started, and where my people were fighting right now.
I huffed out a breath as I forced myself to my feet, the back of my helmet catching on the bloody gash across the back of my neck and making it flare with pain.
I used it; I used the pain to kick my anger into a higher gear as I set off running as fast as I could, heading for the far hatch. I could hear footsteps on the deck overhead, the clash of weapons and grunts as people fought. I wasn’t going fast enough. I needed to be faster!
I kicked off a small crate, using it to launch myself into the air, landing and immediately jumping again. Using the debris and storage containers as a parkour range, my enhanced Agility came to the fore as I barely managed to keep from braining myself on the deck supports. Just as I closed on the wooden ladder to the upper deck, I felt my mana drop suddenly as I tasted ozone; it was Oracle, casting her favorite spell.
I heard the crackle and boom of lightning as it flashed through the air above me, and I kicked off the ladder, redirecting my hurtling form with all the strength I could, rocketing myself up through the hatch.
As I appeared, I slammed my legs out, bracing them on either side of the hatch. I lashed my right hand up to my nearest sword hilt and cupped my left, subvocalizing the components of my own go-to spell: firebolt.
I looked around frantically, seeing movement all around me. To my left were Lydia and the weaselly little bastard from the ship; they were spread out in a standoff with a taller figure, which had its back to me.
I barely had time to glance at the figure they faced, just enough to see that it was upright, had two legs, four arms, and a fuck ton of small tentacles that sprang from the back and sides of its head. Oh, and that every goddamn hand wielded a weapon.
I heard Oracle cry out a warning at the exact same time as something barreled into me from the right, taking us both off our feet and tumbling us across the deck. I had an impression of the world spinning around us as we rolled. My sword arm was gripped in two hands, my left wrist was grasped in another, and a final, fourth hand shot up to grab me by the throat as we spun end over end.
As we rolled, I lost control of the firebolt, the spell backlash ripping through my mind and making me scream in fury and pain. I felt the hand around my throat tighten, and my air began to disappear. My sword eventually clattered away, as my wrist was bent far enough aside that my options were to release it or have my wrist broken.
We smacked into the railing, then fell through a gap, dropping roughly ten feet to the loamy forest earth below. We hit with enough force that we broke apart, and I felt two fingers break on my left hand as I landed badly. I screamed and forced myself to my feet, my mind filled with a red rage.
I saw people coming from the sides, my people, and I roared at them to stay back.
I turned and faced the one that had attacked me. It was smaller than an average human, at about four foot six inches. I noted once again that it had four arms and two legs, and its head was weird.
I couldn’t find any eyes, or ears on the strange oval, the back of which was covered with a tangle of tendrils or tentacles that waved and danced. Its jaw hinged apart in the middle to expose teeth that were surprisingly normal looking; some were flat, some spiked, and others obviously for cutting, and all were a deep black that reflected the light of the sun.
I slowly moved to the left, edging away from the ship, and starting to circle the creature, keeping it fixated on me. It seemed to ‘look’ at the others, then focus back in on me, brandishing a short club that it pulled from its back and held it in the lower right hand. The stronger upper arms lifted and extended to the sides; three digits tipped with black claws flexed in anticipation as it circled opposite me. Its lower left arm was cradled in close to its chest, and I guessed that it had been damaged in the fall.
I grinned at it while Oracle’s heal landed on me, and I gritted my teeth and growled out my pain as my broken fingers cracked back into place. My opponent froze, glancing toward Oracle, and I shouted out to everyone.
“Leave him! This little fucker’s mine! Get up there and help Lydia!” My blood was up, rage burning through me and setting my soul alight. I took a deep breath and grinned at the creature once again. Oh, I needed this! I drew my sword from the left-hand sheath and swapped it to my right hand, never breaking from watching my opponent. It backed up a little, a lot more cautious upon seeing my sword. I was about to draw a dagger with the other hand when it raised its club out to one side. I paused and watched as it wiggled the club to make sure I was watching, then dropped it to the ground.
It lifted its three fingered hands out, flexing them and making a point. A point I understood, and in my rage-addled state, I totally agreed.
I hefted my sword, then stuck it point first into the ground, and did the same with my dagger. I still had others standing behind me; Oracle fired one last lightning bolt overhead, and a few seconds later, Lydia appeared at the side of the ship.
The fighting was all over now, bar me and my foe. I slowly pulled out each weapon I had, save the razorwire in my belt, dropping each onto the ground behind me before moving forward. He did the same, and we started to circle each other warily again, I noted Cam gathering up my weapons and moving them back out of reach, even as Bob lumbered over with my naginata, coming to a halt at the edge of the fighting circle we’d claimed.
I watched as the creature crouched, one foot ahead of the other, upper taloned hands spread wide, left lower arm kept in close, and right lower arm slowly weaving back and forth. I stepped forward as well, turning so my left side was advanced slightly, left foot and left-hand forward, right foot out to brace, and right arm in closer to my chest.
I slowly shuffled forward, ready for the fight of my life against the little four-armed bastard, when it literally ran at me, arms windmilling. I stopped, frowned, and watched as it came closer. Its feet were triangular, as well as its hands. Two long toes at the front and one clawed tip extended backwards from the heel. I stepped back as it got within arm’s reach, slapping its hands aside as I watched for the real attack.
It tried a kick, a couple of jabs, and then a slashing attack with both upper arms coming in from the sides, and I couldn’t help it. I was holding myself back, but I couldn’t ignore the opportunity. I swept down with both hands open-palmed, slapping the outside of its wrists and driving its skinny arms down, allowing me to ‘Sparta’ kick forward, catching it in its solar plexus. It hadn’t even tried to attack with the lower uninjured arm, and it flew backward with a cry.
I stopped, confused. I was sure I’d felt bones break under that kick. The creature was fast, and seemed like it’d be lethal, but it was…crap. On the upper deck, they’d seemed like death incarnate, so fast, and accurate, but now?
It was seriously disappointing to fight. I straightened up as I regarded the little thing. It was curled up and clutching its stomach, coughing blood onto the grass. It hacked up a thick gobbet, then slowly forced itself to its feet. It lifted its upper arms again, but the lower two limbs were clutching its chest, and it was shaking badly.
“Stop,” I said loudly, gesturing to the creature, and it took a step back, confused. “Can you understand me?” I asked it and got a slow nod in reply. “Can you speak?” I asked, and it pointed to its mouth, the thin dribble of blood that leaked out made its point better than the garbled words I couldn’t understand. I looked up to Lydia, and she looked as confused as I was.
“How many were up there?” I asked, and she replied quickly.
“Three, Lord. One got away; one is unconscious, as Oracle shocked it so many times, it started drooling; and that one down there with yeh.”
“Anyone dead?” I asked.
“Not yet, but there will be soon,” she replied darkly, disappearing for a long count of five. She finally reappeared, dragging the weasel. “When we were trying to get out of the
way of their throwing darts, you got kicked out into the open, right?” she asked, and I nodded. “This is who did it.” I switched my gaze to the little bastard and saw confirmation in his eyes as he tried to squirm free of Lydia’s grasp. “Explain,” she snapped, shaking him by the scruff of his neck, and he mumbled a few words before she backhanded him casually. He tried to defend himself, but she hoisted him over the side and dangled him, making him kick out in panic, despite only being a dozen feet above the ground.
“I can’t… hold you long… better speak…” Lydia grunted as she deliberately shook him, and he started babbling.
“’E’s got armor! I didn’t! ‘E shoulda made room fer me!” he cried, frantically scrabbling at the wood as he tried to get a handhold. Lydia looked to me, and I nodded, my face black with renewed anger as I unconsciously reached up to touch the back of my neck to feel at the bloody gash. I could see notifications pulsing away in my peripheral vision, but I was too angry to look at them immediately.
Lydia released him with one hand and punched him in the face, dropping the weasel to the ground with a cry and a thud.
His friends were all standing close together, obviously scared, but none of them made a move to help him, either, and that spoke volumes, both about them and him.
I shook my head in disgust at the scumbag, and mentally told Bob what I wanted. I needed to speak with this strange creature, and I couldn’t get distracted by the little weasel. Bob surged forward, throwing my naginata to me. One massive hand reached down and closed over the man’s head, yanking upward, then to the side, hard. He shook the asshole like a rag doll as he moved, the sound of snapping bone reverberating around the shore as he stomped out of sight.
I closed my eyes and cursed under my breath, shaking my head slightly from side to side as I berated myself. I’d told Bob to take him aside to where he couldn’t be seen, and then kill him, quickly and with minimum noise. I hadn’t wanted the creature to think we were evil, but hey!
I opened my eyes and considered the little thing that stood before me.
It had retreated a dozen steps until its back was pressed tight against the ship’s hull, surrounded in a semi-circle by me and my men, and Lydia was above it. Hell, even Oracle hovered nearby, and she fairly crackled with energy.
The creature was having to lean against the ship for support. It had a steady stream of oily blood dripping from its mouth, and it shook as it tried to watch everywhere at once. Its lower arms were both wrapped around its chest as best it could manage.
I shook my head again and lifted my right hand, palm upward, and began to cast, building the spell layer by layer until it was ready. I launched it at my target, seeing the little creature flinch and try to dodge. It was far too slow.
The Focused Heal-All spell was weak, I knew. It had been cobbled together from dozens of bits of knowledge that Oracle and I had between us, including half-remembered details of medical training I’d gained over the years, and spells Oracle had seen and been involved in. All these aspects came together to create the original spell, and we had adopted a ‘brute force’ method to its casting. We essentially just kept the connection going, pouring more and more mana into it, until we couldn’t find anything left to heal.
This time, as the spell finished, I got a new burst of notifications, and I let out a sigh of relief as the little creature dropped to its knees when the weaves released it. It held up its hands in shock, clutching at its chest, its head, and then roamed over its body as though it couldn’t believe it.
Congratulations!
You have raised the level of your ‘Focused Heal-All’ spell to level 10! You may now choose your first evolution of this spell.
Congratulations! You have raised your spell ‘Focused Heal-All’ to its first evolution. You must now pick a path to follow. Will you lock this spell to a set form, and choose to SPECIALIZE, or will you follow the path of GENERALIST? Choose carefully, as this choice cannot be undone.
Specialist:
You have grown familiar enough with this spell that you’ve noticed areas that are more effective than others. You can choose to specialize in those areas: BONE, MUSCLE, or FLESH. Specializing this spell to focus on one of these areas will result in a mana cost reduction of 50% and an increase of 5% per level of healing as this spell grows.
Generalist:
Choosing the path of the Generalist will remove the option to focus on one aspect of healing, but it will instead increase the healing effect by 2 points per second, per caster’s level of skill with this spell.
I tried to dismiss the prompts, only to find that they stubbornly remained, pulsing an angry red as I tried to get rid of them. I didn’t have the time to consider it properly, and it wouldn’t go away, so I thought for a second, then chose.
You have chosen ‘Generalist’ for your first evolution. Your spell, ‘Focused Heal-All’, has evolved into ‘Battlefield Triage’. For a cost of 25 mana per second, you will heal twenty-two points of damage across the entire target creature, starting with the most grievous wounds first. This spell will improve all aspects of a creature towards its ideal physiological status. Continue to use this spell and build upon your understanding to unlock further evolutions…
My selection satisfied the notifications, and I dismissed them to focus in on the creature I’d fought.
It was watching me again, and it looked at least as scared as it had been before.
“Can you talk now?” I asked it, and it aimed its face at me, tilting its head strangely as it appeared to look around, before finally speaking in a surprisingly deep voice.
“I speak,” it said, hands flexing as it continued scanning the area. I couldn’t decide if it was looking for a way to escape, or to attack.
“Who are you?” I asked, and the noise it made…well, I’d not be able to replicate that any time soon. “That’s your name?” I asked, receiving a short head bob in what I supposed was confirmation.
“Okay, I can’t pronounce that. I’m Jax; I’m in charge here. Where are the people from the ship?”
“Don’t know,” it said, still looking around.
“Well, that’s fucking unhelpful, isn’t it? Let’s try again…” I took a deep breath as I thought about the tracks. None of them matched the feet I’d seen on this creature, and they’d disappeared into the forest, while this thing looked…
“You’re from the lake, aren’t you?” I guessed as the thought registered, and the creature flinched, looking to the water involuntarily.
“No…” it said, and I couldn’t help but grin. It was a crap liar.
“Okay, so, did you attack the people on this ship?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“The greenskins… goblins…” it said, and I nodded.
“What do you know about the ship that landed here?”
“It crashed. Lots of people on the deck and about, making lots of noise. Never safe to make noise. The goblins came, took them; that’s all I know.”
“And what were you doing in the ship when we arrived?” I asked, seeing the creature hunch down as it heard my question.
“Didn’t know it was yours. Thought goblins would strip it. Just wanted to try to make things better, came to search the ship… we didn’t mean to steal…” That was enough, and it clicked in my mind as all the clues came together.
“You’re a child, aren’t you?” I asked, and a second voice answered me from behind our group.
“Yes, he is. I ask you to leave him be, stranger. We will bargain for his life.” I spun around to face the water, finding a trio of the creatures slowly emerging. I could see eddies and ripples in the water further out that indicated there were others out there still hidden, as my perception and meridian enhancements worked together to draw my attention to the details.
“I don’t deal in children,” I said automatically and gestured to my squad. They understood what I was getting at, and they moved back, making a clear path to the aquatic group that was now str
iding out of the water. They were considerably taller than any of the creatures I’d seen so far, and more heavily muscled. None of the creatures seemed built for power, more of whipcord strength and flexibility, but I knew instinctively that they’d be lethal in the water, and probably damn dangerous on the land as well.
The leader of the group inclined its head to me in thanks and gestured to the little one we’d faced.
The errant boy took a hesitant step, then another, then broke into a run, flashing past us as quickly as possible, before diving headfirst into the water. The leader of the group shook its head and muttered something to one of its companions, who disappeared after the child. Once its orders had been obeyed, the leader then set the butt of the spear it held into the ground, twisting it to make sure it was stable, then stepped forward, leaving the weapon behind and continuing to approach alone.
I nodded to myself, thinking that I could see what it was doing, and I did the same, driving my naginata’s base into the ground and walking forward to stand face to face.
We stood for a long second, evaluating each other before we both spoke at once.
“I...”
“We…”
We both came to a stop, and the awkwardness built, until I finally started laughing under my breath. I shook my head and held out my right hand, the creature reaching out and clasping my wrist, giving it a firm shake before releasing me.
“I’m never any good at meeting people,” I said, smiling. “I’m Jax, and I’m the Lord of the Great Tower of Dravith. Who are you?”
“I… ah. I am Flux. I had companions who were surface dwellers long ago, and I remember their issues with my name, so please, Lord, call me Flux.”
“Nice to meet you, Flux,” I said, and he suddenly dropped to one knee, splashing in the muddy shore and damn near making me punch him reflexively.
“I…we are sorry,” he said quickly, before snapping something out to his companion, who hastily dropped to a knee in the fashion. “We are unsure as to correct protocol amongst the surface dwellers. You are a Lord; I remember such titles. We did not mean disrespect.”