“Keep the kids together and be on the lookout for threats. Skree and I will deal with anything dangerous. Just keep moving.”
“Or what, you going to leave them here, like you wanted to do to me in the Warren?” The Kobold she had threatened earlier chimed in, looking agitated.
Priestess met his gaze, her steady voice meeting his challenge. “Yes.” She spun and started walking.
"Okay, off we go."
She marched into the woods, keeping a steady pace that pushed the younglings pretty hard. They had to stop a few times and eventually Skree had to carry one of the smallest girls as she was at the point of collapsing. She clung desperately to his back, arms wrapped around his neck. They continued through the woods, keeping a steady pace. Thankfully it had been uneventful so far, but he had a bad feeling as the trees started to thin.
Skree called out. “Wait a moment.” He began casting Minor Blessing on every single one of the Kobolds, his mana dropping rapidly. The small boost to stats would hopefully help them if they needed to run.
Eventually the jungle opened entirely, leaving them marching across on a wide clearing that extended all the way to the shore. Priestess increased their pace, as Zuka sprinted back and forth in the distance. They had barely covered half the distance when Zuka howled a warning. A sensation flooded his mind, coming from his companion. A sense of numbers flooding his mind. He could feel Zuka's trepidation. The enemies were here, and they were numerous.
Skree signaled for a stop. "Kamilla, there is a large group heading our way. Zuka and I will buy you as much time as we can, but you must get them to the ship. Find Fenna."
"I don't know Skree, these babes are on empty and if there are that many, you may not slow them down enough for us to escape." She replied. “I should come with you; the others can lead them down to the beach.
He ground his teeth in frustration. They were so close. Maybe twenty more minutes and they would be to the boat. "Priestess, this is it, do or die. We make it to the boat or it's over for all of us. I promise, I WILL buy you enough time, you just have to trust me."
She frowned and started to protest, but he cut her off. “What if there are more Soldiers? What if they find them? You have to go with them, you’re the only one who can keep them safe.”
She nodded then hugged him suddenly. He threw an arm around her, returning the gesture. "I will get them to the ship. You better be there." She said.
He grabbed her by the shoulders. "I will do my best but do not wait for me. Tell Fenna to raise anchor at the first sign of trouble." He let her go and reached into his bag, removing his bow. It was weak at his current level, but the bonus damage from the quiver and his abilities should help soften up the approaching force.
He jogged away from the group, looking back to see Kamilla getting them into formation for a run to the shore. As he moved away, Zuka ran up just in front of him, taking the lead. Fifteen minutes later and in the distance, he saw them. At least a dozen soldiers, with a few on horseback. When they spotted him, the mounted troops broke away from the formation and charged.
"You ready boy?" he shouted to Zuka who barked in response and together they sprinted forward, ready to meet the group head on.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The distance between them shrank rapidly, the mounted soldiers riding hard. Luckily there were only four of them with the other dozen still a good distance away. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and activated Careful Aim while he ran. Time slowed, and he drew back hard on the bowstring. Aiming while running was very difficult so he stopped quickly, dropping to one knee.
He sighted in and released, the arrow flying and hitting the first rider in the shoulder. He saw the figure react, but seconds later, they were back at a full gallop. He fired a dozen more arrows, missing more often than not. He waited for them to close the distance. He needed them closer.
Long seconds passed, and the figures continued to close, no sign of hesitation in their stride. He nocked, activated Power Shot, and released, this time aiming for the center of the horse, instead of the rider. The projectile shot forward, striking the horse in the neck. It collapsed in a tangle of limbs and flailing hooves, the rider flying loose and bouncing along the ground a few times, rolling to a stop in a cloud of dust. They did not stand up again.
He fired another arrow, clipping the same rider he had shot earlier finally knocking him from the saddle. His horse carried on, following the rest of the group as they charged. When the distance was no more than 100 feet, he fired one more arrow, which penetrated the heavy chest plate of his target.
He slid the bow into his pouch, and withdrew his Great sword, standing with the blade at the ready. The soldier he had shot was slowing, leaving just one massive horse and rider charging at him. He waited, heart racing at the sight of the speeding animal charging him. The rider held his sword aloft, leaning from the saddle to deliver a killing stroke.
Skree whirled away, extending the blade outward as he spun. Using the momentum of his movement and the weight of the blade, the Great sword collided with the front limb of horse, severing the thick leg in a shower of blood. The horse collapsed with a shriek and the riders blade passed just inches from Skree's face as he tumbled to the ground, the sickening crunch of breaking bones accompanying the impact.
It was the rider's turn to shriek as both horse and rider struggled wildly on the ground. Skree didn't wait, activating Sunder and delivering a deadly overhead chop to the downed man. His blade crushed the armor and split the metal breastplate, leaving a jagged hole oozing thick, dark blood that seeped from the spreading cracks in the metal. The rider was dead, but the second rider had recovered and entered the fight. He readied his sword, hoping he could pull the same maneuver.
He started his swing when he saw the lupine form of Zuka leap from the ground, throwing his weight into the mounted soldier. Rider and Wolf tumbled away, leaving Skree free to avoid the charging animal without killing it. He rushed toward the soldier who was successfully fending off Zuka's attempts to maul him, keeping the Wolf at bay.
While he was distracted, Skree charged in, deflecting a sword swing and delivering a strong counter blow that cut a deep gash in the soldier’s bicep. His sword landed a few feet away as his hand went limp, no longer able to control his fingers. Zuka charged the back of the man’s legs, tripping him. The wolf activating his maul ability and savaged the foe. Screams punctuated the air as the soldier was torn apart by the powerful jaws of his companion.
Skree saw a horse meandering in the area, waiting for a rider to claim it, and Skree was all too happy to oblige. He had been horseback riding a few times in his youth but doubted his ability to fight well from a mounted position. Still, this was a trained war horse, so he hoped it would at least work as a distraction.
He grabbed the reins and brought it near the fallen rider who had just been killed by Zuka. He did a quick measurement in his mind and then started casting Pitfall Trap about 5 feet to the right of the corpse. Once the spell had been completed and area of the ground was now highlighted in yellow, showing him the placement of his trap clear as day. “Excellent.” he muttered.
"Zuka, can you see the trap?" he asked.
The wolfed sent a mental confirmation, not exactly a word, but he could clearly understand the meaning. That done, Skree mounted the horse and brought it to a trot. He cast Minor Lizard Skin, feeling that itching sensation wash over his entire body. His hands were once again covered in small scales, and his nose looked very strange to his eyes. He spurred his horse to greater speed, Zuka keeping pace beside him. He galloped toward the rider he had dismounted with arrows and when he was in range cast Ice Dagger. The crystalline projectile shot forward, impaling the fleeing figure between the shoulder blades.
The distance evaporated as the man stumbled, Skree's great sword sang in a wide arc as he rode past. The impact was tremendous and even with the strength he had, he nearly lost his grip on the giant weapon, the soldier falling to the ground headless.
He released his hold on Entangle, snapped off the arrow in his shoulder, and ripping the other free. He received the bleeding status for his efforts, but it was necessary. He cast Minor Restoration, seeing most of his health return instantly, the buff icon for the heal over time portion blinking steadily. He would be without healing for at least 30 seconds, so he had to hope that would be long enough. He readied Entangle and charged through the formation, soldiers attempting to dive out of the way. Most were successful, but he felt the horse stumble as it crushed the ribs of at least one soldier.
Once he was clear, he released the spell and the familiar vines shot out of the ground, trapping several of the soldiers. He cast Ice Missile, hitting one of the far targets and swung his great blade to and fro attempting to inflict as much damage as possible in the confusion. One of the soldier stabbed his horse in the meaty portion of its back leg, which backfired, the horse kicking back with both legs, shattering several bones in the man’s chest and back. He bounced across the ground, moaning loudly when he finally came to a stop. Bright red blood stained his dented armor.
Zuka let loose a howl, activating Inspiring Howl and attacked furiously, delivering several bite attacks to the entangled soldiers and moving away as fast as he had appeared. Hit and run tactics would be needed if they were to survive the next few minutes. Skree saw that the timer for Sunder was gone so he activated the ability, crushing the helmet of a nearby soldier, feeling the bone crunch under the staggering force of his weapon.
Skree leaned back as a spear thrust up at him, avoiding being impaled but a hot red line formed across his chest. His health pool dropping to 80 percent. He grabbed the spear haft and yanked, pulling it free from the woman’s grasp. He grinned knowing that the extra few points in strength had probably helped with that move. With his enhanced speed, he hefted the spear and threw it at a soldier who was swinging wildly at Zuka, impaling him through the back, the spearhead burying itself completely in the flesh. Skree had hoped that blow would have ended him, but the soldier continued to fight hard, hitting Zuka in the face and side a few times before the wolf could activate Maul again. Once the ability was available, Zuka activated it and drove the soldier to the ground.
A hot flash of searing pain erupted in his leg as he was pulled from the horse, another of the soldiers having recovered from being Entangled. Skree hit the ground hard, seeing his health bar was now at 68 percent. He rolled out of the way of a falling blade, the metal carving a deep gouge in the soil beside him. He threw his body against the flat of pinned blade, using his weight to wrench it from the soldier’s grasp. He kicked up, knocking the man back a few feet and pulled a hatchet from his harness mount, throwing it will all his might.
It tumbled end over end, the blade finally hitting the man in the stomach. It sliced through his light leather armor and tore open a wide cut in the man's abdomen. It looked like it hurt, but it was far from fatal. A boot kicked connected with Skree's head, knocking him flat on his back and stunning him momentarily. Another flash of pain as the soldier who had kicked him drove his longsword into his shoulder. He yelped at pain caused by the metal tipped boot, his health bar plummeting to 44 percent. The Soldier fell atop him, pinning one of his arms to the ground and drove a long knife into his shoulder.
As he struggled to free himself he heard Zuka yelp loudly in pain, the soldier having managed to deliver another dangerous slash across his companion’s face, tearing through Zuka's eye in the process. The organ was ripped from its socket, barely connected by a thread of tissue and nerves. Skree roared in anger seeing that Zuka's health points were at 31 percent. He cast Ice Dagger and fired it into the groin of the man who had him pinned, forcing the soldier to fall back, curling into the fetal position with a sparkling dagger sticking out of his privates. The soldier held his junk as blood poured freely from the wound, but Skree had no time to waste.
He cast Minor Restoration and released the energy, the golden light racing to Zuka, whose health jumped back up to 59 percent. Skree watched in horror as the skin of Zuka's eye socket began to heal, leaving the exposed eyeball dangling. Apparently, it couldn't heal that injury but most of the large gashes stopped bleeding and began to close.
With gritted teeth, he pulled the blade from his shoulder, feeling the metal grate against bone as it slid free. It toppled to the ground with a thud. He forced himself to stand, seeing there were only two enemies left. Zuka appeared to have his foe on the ropes so he focused on the remaining woman.
She sneered at him, seeing his wounds thinking she would have an easy fight. His left arm barely worked, so he released his grip on the great sword and pulled the second hatchet from his harness. They circled for only a second before she charged forward, swinging wildly. He deflected the first blow, and the second, but she scored a hit that left a jagged cut in his left forearm. He saw his health was at 22 percent now, and he was starting to feel dizzy.
He parried a blow, turning with her momentum and swung hard, driving the hatchet into the back of her leg, severing tendons. She stumbled, hobbling around on one good leg, but she didn't fall. He cast Ice Dagger and the frozen projectile shot forward, scoring another direct hit, this time hitting her sword arm. She hissed in pain, tossing the sword from her right hand to her left. Despite her injuries, she came at him again, desperation seeping into her attacks. They both struggled to attack and defend and out of the corner of his eye, it looked like Zuka was struggling again. The soldier kept moving around Zuka's right side, using the Wolfs impaired vision to get a few good attacks.
Skree hopped backward, narrowly avoiding a swing that would have taken his head. He leaned forward and charged her, driving his good shoulder into her stomach, driving her to the ground. She made an oof sound then gasped for air. He had gotten lucky, knocking the wind out of her. Her helmet had come free, rolling away and Skree did the only thing he could think of in the haze. He grabbed a handful of her hair and smashed her head into the ground. She continued to struggle so he slammed her head again and again until she stopped moving. He lifted his hand and cast Ice Dagger, catching the last soldier off guard, distracting him long enough for Zuka to activate maul and drive his opponent to the ground. The wolf made short work of the soldier, scoring a critical hit as he tore into the jugular veins in the neck.
Blood exploded from the torn flesh, the soldier twitching a few times as he died. Skree took a moment to check his status. 14 percent health remaining for him, 29 percent for Zuka. That was far too close. He cast Minor Restoration, seeing his mana was just about spent. His health shot up to 42 percent, and slowly started regenerating at about 3 percent per second. The wound in his shoulder stopped bleeding and he bit his lip as the tender flesh started knitting back together.
Zuka hobbled over to him, collapsing from exhaustion. "We make a pretty good team." He said, his voice hoarse from all the yelling and screaming. Zuka gently licked his hand, setting his head on Skree's leg. They sat there breathing heavily for a few moments, amid the wreckage and devastation they had caused, surrounded by corpses. He waited until Minor Restoration was available and used the last of his mana to cast the spell on Zuka.
The gashes and cuts began to close and Skree was happy to see his companion’s health return to 63 percent. When the regeneration effect ends, his health should end up around 80 percent.
"They really got you good buddy." He said sadly, looking at the mangled eye hanging from a healed eye socket. He reached into hi
s bag and pulled out a dagger. Zuka whimpered gently, closing his eye at the sight of the dagger. Feelings passed across their bond, fear and then, understanding. Tears came to Skree's eyes as he placed the blade near the destroyed eye socket.
"Please forgive me." He said softly, then cut through the flesh and nerves that were dangling from the scarred flesh. The screeching howl drove pain as sharp as any dagger into his heart as the ruined eyeball came away with a small spray of blood. The last bit of minor restoration sealed the wound, and Zuka ceased his agonizing yelping. He settled into whimpering as the wound was still very painful.
His senses came alive as he heard something, the sound of hooves tearing across the earth in the distance. Looking over his shoulder, he saw two more riders barreling toward them. "Fuuuuck." He said through gnashing teeth. "Come on Zuka, we have run for it." He stood, grabbing his Great sword and hatchets, securing them quickly. He hefted the blade onto his back and ran with everything he had, back toward the corpses in the distance.
Zuka and Skree sprinted, their muscles burning and chests heaving. They would not be able to outrun these foes, but they just needed to make it to the trap he had laid earlier. They were covering the distance quickly, but it was going to be close. Too close. As they neared the trap, the subtle glow revealed its presence on the ground. The sound of hoofs was right behind them. He dared not look back and instead, leaned into his run, trying desperately to gain the last few feet. He swore he could almost feel the breath of the horses on his neck. He dove through the air, sailing over the trap, his body twisting in midair to land in a way that would allow him to roll.
The mounted soldiers spurred their horses forward, taunting gleefully as they closed the last few inches when the ground gave way beneath their mounts and they plummeted the few feet into the spiked trap. The sharp rocks tore through horse and rider alike, killing the equine beasts near instantly and leaving the soldiers impaled through the legs and feet. Skree rolled painfully to his feet and looked down into the hole, listening to the screams of the men who had nearly killed him. Again.
Raiya_Starter Zone_A LitRPG Saga Page 26